Angel
by KunoichiRena
Summary: Presumed dead, Ellis is left behind and must find his way to safety but manages to further delve into trouble. However, with the help of an Angel, nothing is impossible-a cure included.
1. A House, not a Home

A House, not a Home

A safe house was one of the only places that could guarantee you that for at least a while, nothing inhuman could get at you. Even if those tank brutes were to throw themselves against the door, the only thing that would happen is that the place would rumble and you could kill it from inside before he could damage anything any further. Spitters and smokers were really the only thing that you would have to worry about if they managed to get their goo inside or their tongues wrapped about you through the shooting grills and even then, simply shut it when you get into the room.

Sounds simple enough, right? No idiot could get that wrong.

Then again, there were idiots in the world.

The Southern hick was the last one to stumble into the safe house that morning. They had been running and fighting off zombies all night and they had taken a beating that would not be soon forgotten. He hitched the lock on the door and barred it with a desk before shooting off any stragglers that may have followed the group. A tongue shot out through the grill and wrapped itself around his neck and he knew that he had seconds to shoot the tongue before it would be too tightly wound around his throat and he would be pulled against the door, giving him no room to fight back. He aimed his shotgun at the tongue but it was too late. His eyes were already rolling to the back of his head and he could feel himself going limp. "Overalls!" Nick's voice seared through the darkness and he was suddenly on the ground, panting for breath. His vision slowly returned to him as he wrung his hand around his throat, Rochelle ripping off the tongue from his throat as Nick shot at everything he could from the small room, yelling as he did so. "Sonnova bitch! That thing near did me in!" He managed to gasp out, Coach letting out a snort as he rested his back against the wall and let Nick have at the last zombie, slamming the grill shut and turning to Ellis. "Watch yourself, you damn hick! You want to die!"

"Hey, hey, watch yerself, you nearly got yerself killed by them witch-bitches. Who saved yer ass there? Yer welcome."

It was true that Ellis was the one that pried off and killed the witch when Nick had startled it accidentally. They were in the pitch darkness and their flashlights had become useless after falling into a sewer. They had heard the witch somewhere but agreed to move away from the sound slowly. However, Nick's flashlight had randomly gone off and shone right in the face of the witch. Out of pure instinct, he shot at her and that was what set her off. She let out her horrible screech and jumped the con-man to the ground.

It was Ellis who had reacted first and, following the example of a charger, used his shoulder and rushed at her. As soon as he made contact with her, she flew off him and hit the ground. That gave Ellis enough time to crown her with his shotgun and scoop up the older man and shove him up the ladder.

The young man's eyes fell upon the slash wounds on his abdomen as the con-man slid to the ground and held onto them, his shoulders heaving with trial. "C'mon, now, why dontcha heal up? Need me t'do it?"

"No, I don't need your goddamn help. Just throw me a kit and some pills." Ellis rolled his eyes and yanked his kit off his back and picked up pills from a shelf and threw them at his wounded friend with a crooked grin. "There ya go, princess."

"Shut up, Aylus."

Once more, the hick rolled his eyes and bit his tongue. He didn't want to argue with an injured man, no matter how much of an ass he was. "Ah suppose we're even now. Yeh saved my life an' I saved yers."

"I saved your ass more than once today, kid! Remember that hunter? And then that boomer spit that got you a million and one zombies to come and attack your ass?"

Ellis raised a finger to Nick and was about to protest but Coach had stopped them.

"Would you cut it out? I'm sick and tired of hearing you two morons fighting! Now heal yourselves up and we're sleeping here tonight. I hope you have no objections about actual sleep tonight?

" Everyone went silent, Rochelle holding a hand up to her mouth as she muffled laughter. She couldn't take Coach seriously when he was riled up as he was out of frustration. He was only irritated because his knee had been giving him problems and had to rely on the others to make kills for him. His reputation had been going down the drain. Rochelle, on the other hand, had managed to successfully sport a huge bruised cheek from a tank throwing concrete and barely missing her.

Yet again, it was Ellis and Nick who had managed to take down the beast in a surprising feat of syngergy. She was impressed for only a moment until they began to get attacked by commons and could do nothing about it if it meant taking down a tank. She and Coach had suddenly remembered the guns in their hands and shot at the commons attacking their friends, hoping there would be no stray bullets.

Nick grunted as he pressed a gauze against his abdomen and winced when he poured alcohol over it, as if somehow trying to muffle the pain but it didn't actually work.

"Here, let me have a look at it, honey."

Rochelle almost laughed once more as she moved over to Nick and began dressing his wound. Ellis gave an almost satisfied snort and wandered over to a barrel and opened it up, finding empty cans of beans inside.

"Shoot, someone done come here before us and ate everything! Sonnova bitch!" He kicked the barrel as his stomach grumbled.

"Just be glad we have a place for the night." Coach reminded him, earning a scoff. "There ain't even no kits 'ere! Damn it all! I'm starvin'! We ain't had nuthin' t'eat since…since…"

"I agree with Overalls."

Nick finally spoke through the grunts as Rochelle tightly wound his torso. "We've had nothing to eat for four days now. But whining doesn't solve anything. If there's nothing, there's nothing. We can stop by some houses after and see if we can find anything."

"Houses? Have yew seen houses in a while? We've been marchin' through this shit swamp fer a long time now an' we ain't even on the map no more! Stew'pid. An' with this rain, we can't travel fast. I'm starvin'!"

He repeated himself as he searched the barrel once more in vain. His Southern drawl became even longer and it was a sign that he was exhausted. Nick picked up on it right away. The kid had tried playing the hero the night before in attempt to keep the spirits up by shouting out different puns at each monster. "Ain't you ever been to a doctor?" "Grandmaw?" "Shoot, last time I saw someone that big was at my family reunion when Aunt Marleen brought over sixteen apple pies! Damn, that was good. Ain't nobody could move after that!" (He had been referencing a Boomer they had come across) "Now ain't this a surprise, Ma! Uncle Larry came over for a visit!

" They knew that Ellis had a strange way of trying to get people to laugh, but Zombie-relative jokes at this point in time seemed more painful than funny. Somehow, it seemed as if he tried to fill a sort of void by remembering all the good times he had and trying to treasure them in the only way he could.

"I'm going to sleep. Wake me if you need anything." Coach spoke up finally, stretching out on the ground and quickly falling asleep. Rochelle gave a nod and stood up, looking around and shrugging.

"No med kits here either, so I'll keep mine for now. You okay without one Ellis, right?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Haven't got a scratch on me!"

He grinned from ear to ear at her worry. He had just given his kit to Nick without a second thought, taking for granted that there would be a kit waiting for him in the safe house, but for the first time, there wasn't one.

It was no big deal, though. He hadn't been too hurt and Nick needed it more than him anyways.

A wave of guilt suddenly washed over Nick. He had left a boy without the means to healing himself and without pills or a shot to boot. The pill bottle he had been tossed earlier had been left with only five pills, three of which Nick had just swallowed to numb the pain. If anything, he thought, he could heal the boy when he needed. Have another 'IOU's on top of his head over everything. But that still didn't settle him. The hick's face kept grinning at Nick until he finally grew irritated once more.

"What's wrong, your face stuck?"

"No, yeh just reminded me about a time I was with Keith at a rodeo competition. Hoooo-ee he dared me to sign up as dem clowns that distract the bull. Well, as it turns out, it ain't that easy. You need actual training as if it were there hard. One of dem professional careers, y'know? Well, anyways, I managed to get me a suit at the party store and dressed up like one o'em. Well, there was this one bull called Billy, hoo-ee he ain't like nobody ridin' him! An' when he bucked off him rider, ah was sent to distract the bull. You can only imagine how many stitches I got in my side." Ellis finished his story for once and realized why—Nick had fallen asleep on him and Rochelle had gone to find extra blankets. He gave a sigh and began fiddling with the safety on his shot gun.

Safe, unsafe, lock, unlock, open, close.

"Why don't you sleep, sugar?"

"I innit even tired. Ah'll keep first watch in case them spitter dudes come a'spittin' alright?" Rochelle placed a hand on her hip as she threw him a blanket, not believing him. "We're as safe as we can be here. At least take a nap."

"Naw, heck, did ah ever tell you 'bout the time me n' Keith stayed up for nearly a week straight! Well, sorta, but we used dem toothpicks to hold open our eyelids. Whoo-hoo-hoo doc was pullin' splinters out for a week!"

He laughed as he sat with his back against the wall now, his knees in the air and arms laid over them, his shot gun nestled in between his thighs. "An' did ah ever tell ya 'bout the time Keith-"

"Good night, Ellis. Thanks for keeping watch." Rochelle cut him off, not really wanting to hear another one of his stories how he and his friend Keith ended up in the hospital. She collapsed in a heap in the corner of the room and sighed, closing her eyes and soon enough, falling asleep.

Ellis once again, toyed with the safety. The smile faded from his lips as his mind began wandering to things he hadn't thought about in a while. His Ma and Keith. Not just in some of his stories, but really thought about them. Where were they? Had they become infected? Did CEDA whisk them away? Were they stationed at an evac station? Did they even manage to stick it out at a safe house? Were they hungry as him?

Shoot, his Ma would have a fit if she knew that he was starving. He let out a small chuckle and picked up his hat with one hand and ran it through his tousle of hair. '_Man I miss Ma's cobbler…'_ He thought to himself, closing his eyes and thinking of all the different foods he used to eat. His grin never disappeared as he held onto a bruised rib and scratched an itch around it. His eyes weighed heavily on his lids until he shook off the sleepiness and looked over at Nick breathing heavily. His wounds had really gotten to him and he knew that it was because he hadn't reacted fast enough. It was all a mistake. Ellis looked around the safe room and saw that there was absolutely nothing left worth taking.

Flip open, closed, open closed. Open—

And then he heard it. The none-too-familiar sound of a spitter.

He grinned and realized that he could stop thinking about things that made him hungry and take out his stomach's emptiness on the Spitter. He pried open the grill and just as he was about to pull away, acid hit his forearm and shoulder. He let out a surprised yell and turned back to see that the others began to wake up. Without thinking, he yanked open the door and pointed his shotgun at the spitter and released the single bullet he needed to kill her into her head.

His nerves began screaming in protest now as the acid burned at his skin. He tried wiping it off onto his pants but stopped mid-brush when the wail in the air signaled something he was afraid of—zombie attack.

Ellis gripped onto his gun once more and began backing away into the shelter, eyes wandering around feverishly to try and find the direction of the horde. One eye closed in pain as he went to try and conceal his corroded arm but stopped, knowing that he needed two hands to use a gun. The acid had stopped eating away at him, but he knew that the damage had been done. His right arm was damaged and it pained him with every muscle he moved in it. It seemed as if he had muscles he didn't know he had. He backed all the way into the shelter door and slowly made a grab for the handle, wanting to silently slip in and attack from the grill there.

Just one turn of the handle and—

He was pushed to the ground and something began attacking his frontside. He let out a yell and shot off his gun into the hunter that had managed to ambush him from the top of the building. He shot at it like a maniac until it slumped on top of him, a horde of commons descending upon him and slicing away at him. He had drawn out his emergency pistol and shot at the zombies surrounding him but the damage they were doing was still the same.

It wasn't until a torrent of bullets hailed upon the horde that had cornered him did he finally manage to stumble onto his feet, clutching onto his gashes and looking at the shelter to see an AK47 firing off round after round into the group of undead. He stumbled backwards a bit and tried to better compose himself and firing off his gun once more.

"Tank!"

Ellis heard Rochelle's voice now, the door swinging open as she charged out with a launcher, pointing it at the Tank that ran directly towards the shelter. She let it go off as Coach, the one who had shot off the AK, released more rounds into it.

Ellis saw that the tank wasn't slowing its assault. His mind raced and he realized that the sweet and caring girl was going to get pummeled if she didn't move out of the way.

On pure instinct, he raced over to her (or rather, limped as fast as he could), and with his good arm, yanked her towards him and out of harm's way. In surprise, she dropped the launcher and her last view before blacking out was of Ellis being shoved up against the wall and Coach still shooting at the beast, Nick throwing his pipe-bomb at the horde before focusing his attention to the tank. With a grim smile, she blacked out knowing that Ellis would owe another favor to Nick.

Ellis on the other hand, was yelling in both pain and fear as the Tank pummeled him over and over again until he could no longer breathe properly.

The grasp around him was suddenly released as it keeled over—dead. Coach had picked up Rochelle's launcher and released it into its back, killing it instantly. Ellis coughed and once again, began to stand up woozily, falling backwards onto the wall.

Coach had run to collect the fallen woman on the ground, Ellis covering him as he did so. His mind was in overdrive as another horde descended upon them, and he knew that they'd attack the door until they killed them, or they got killed. There was no competition on what he chose to do.

He brought his shotgun up once more, his arm trembling as he did, and went to fire but head a dull '_click'_ instead. Ice frosted his veins as he tried shooting the gun a few more times in vain. He had run out of bullets.

"Christ in a hand basket, when did that happen!"

He cursed silently to himself, using the butt of the gun to shove off a zombie in a feeble attempt to protect himself but his strength had been sapped from him.

"Get in here already!"

Two hands grabbed onto his shoulders and roughly pulled him inside the room, the door slamming shut and Coach had once again, gone at the zombies from the safe zone from the grill. Ellis lay writhing on the ground now, Nick going over his wounds but not quite sure on how to deal with it. Rochelle was usually the one with the healing hands.

"Where are you hurt!"

"Goddammit, everywhere, man!"

Ellis didn't know if Nick was making a joke or actually that stupid and he ctually hoped for once that he was stupid. A joke would have seemed worse than not knowing the evident.

Instantly, Nick remembered the two pills and shoved them down Ellis' throat. He looked around for another med kit and remembered that there were none left—except the one Rochelle wore. His entire body, completely on guard from what, he didn't know, turned to the unconscious form of Rochelle to see that her med kit had fallen during the scuffle and was no longer on her back.

He rushed to the window and pushed Coach aside to see that it was some thirty feet away and being admired by a hunter. It was then he realized his own disability once more.

His wounds had re-opened and blood had begun to seep through his shirt. He grasped at it and winced as he hissed in pain. Coach turned to him, and in one movement, pushed him down and away from the door. He understood what he wanted. In the fasted sprint he had, Coach had managed to run to the med kit, tear it away from the hunter, and make it back in time for Nick to fire a shot at the Hunter and kill him in one go.

Coach shut the door just in time to avoid the onslaught of Zombies. He reached for his Molotov and opened the door once more, throwing it out and barring everything. His attention was now focused inside, Rochelle slowly coming around.

"Easy now, Ro, easy."

She groaned and sat up, shaking her head a bit. With a gasp, she jolted to her feet and looked around. "Ellis! Where's…oh no…Nick!" Rochelle saw one wounded man trying to heal the other and immediately felt a sense of guilt and fear. She scrambled over to Nick to try and assess his wounds but he quickly pushed her away.

"Dammit, woman, help Overalls!" He pushed her away in a slight fit of rage and she began to tend to Ellis with the med kit Coach had given Nick. The boy had managed to muffle his pain now, biting hard into his bottom lip and letting Rochelle wrap his wounds and stitch them shut.

"I'd give you more first aid, but this is all I got…I need to help Nick too…"

She seemed to be on the verge of tears and could barely finish her sentences right.

"This is not happening…this is not happening…"

"Just calm down and fix the damn boy!" Nick yelled, trying to fix the situation but only adding to the calamity. It was only when Coach's firing stopped did she realize that they weren't in danger anymore.

But Ellis was.

He had been slipping in and out of consciousness, muttering half-sayings about his Ma or Keith or some dare in desperate attempt to stay awake but it never worked for more than a few minutes at a time if he were lucky.  
"Go on, sweetheart, tell me about Keith again."

Rochelle tried to keep him awake and with her but she could feel heat rise to her cheeks not out of embarrassment, but frustration and sadness. Were they going to lose their companion?

"Did I ever tell yew 'bout the time…me 'n Keith stole a couple a' beers from the brewery…"

He began slowly through clenched teeth. The pain was like nothing he'd ever felt before. They always avoided spit-shit and none really knew how it felt like except for maybe losing a sneaker or two when trampling over it.

But skin contact was a different thing. The hunter had done his fair share, that was for sure, and the Tank bruised him on top of it, but it was the acid that really did him in.

"Keep going, honey."

Rochelle's voice registered in his mind but the acid screamed louder. Darkness eclipsed his vision and he could feel the coolness of a ceramic plate pressing against his skin around the burns. "Feel good?"

Nick's voice. He sounded concerned. Not something Ellis was used to. Or anyone. The guy was good enough deep, deep, deep down inside, but it was different when he showed it.

"Continue the story, baby." Rochelle once again. Damn, she wasn't as pretty as Zoey, but as another living and breathing human female who wasn't infected, she was the next best thing to beautiful.

"I dun' remember what happened…" He lied, his chest heaving with pain as she gently moved about his wounds.

"'Cept it was dark for a few days…"

"No, no, it wasn't dark. Come on, what happened?"

Coach's voice piped in as he began re-patching Nick. Ellis turned his head to the side and saw that his cap had fallen unceremoniously beside him. He was tired. Too tired to care about his prized hat. His chest heaved a few times as he groaned and turned his body a bit, the others beginning to freak out as he held onto his side and remained there.

"Hold still!"

"Dammit Overalls, why the hell are you moving!" He knew that he couldn't sleep. If he succumbed to the darkness, he would more than likely die.

"I ain't…dying here…"

He tried pushing himself up but stopped when Nick dove after him and pinned him to the ground, Rochelle giving a gasp and trying to contain her tears.

"Dammit, Nick, you're bleeding everywhere! Stop moving!"

"Keep Overalls from moving! Damn hick, look at all the blood you've lost!"

Ellis's eyes looked under him and saw that a puddle of blood had formed quite nicely under him. He gave a small chuckle and reached out to grab Nick's white suit, tugging it slightly with his usual cocky smile. "Lookit yew...nice time t'be wearing a white suit…migh' as well be a red suit now."

He would have made another remark about it but Ellis had stopped moving all together and his hand fell, his eyes closing. "ELLIS!" Nick screamed out his name.

* * *

**AN: I kinda wrote this a while ago on one huge document, soooo it may not fall together nicely like my other stories but I will have enough chapters updated so that it will make sense. Then I'll update it like I would to a normal story I post online. **


	2. Alone

Alone

"Did I ever tell you about the time Keith tried being my wingman at a bar?"

Ellis grinned like the devil as he spoke casually to his friends around a table of beers and cards. There was enough food in the area for them to eat.

"Hey, Overalls, beans outta help with your constipation."

He chucked the can at him, Ellis catching it as it flew through the air with a large grin on his face and set it down on the table.

"I was lookin' forwards to stinkin' up someone's toilet an' makin' ya'll gag."

"Ew, Ellis, come on!"

Rochelle scolded him, earning nothing but laughs from Coach.

"Hey, pass me them beans. I'mma be regular for a while!"

"Coach!"

Rochelle squeaked, Coach and Ellis bursting out in laughter. It was fun. Being together and trying to make it 'till tomorrow was their common goal, and the need to socialize was the next important part. They were a small family.

Broken up, yeah, but still there.

Still together.

Whatever happened to Rochelle's family or Coach or Nick or Ellis, they knew that it was impossible with the current situation to go out and search for them. Everyone was headed to the evac station, so if they were looking for any family members, they had to be there otherwise…

"So what's the worst zombie out there?"

Ellis started, downing a warm beer and feeling the buzz already. It'd been too long since he drank so it was easy to get a buzz.

"Tank."

Coach spoke.

"Them bastards take forever to kill…and there's no avoiding them."

"I agree…but the thing I hate the most are those boomers. Get hit with puke and you've got yourself another horde. Hate it."

"Witch. Reminds me of my ex-wife."

Nick laughed a bit as he swigged on his beer with one hand and inhaled his cigarette with the other.

"How about you, Ellis?"

Rochelle asked him sweetly. He gave a laugh and nodded.

"Them spitter-dudes. Hurts like shit to be hit!"

He exclaimed, holding up his arm for them to see.

Wait.

This wasn't right. It wasn't burned.

Ellis looked down at his stomach to see that it was unharmed from that hunter attack.

"Now this ain't right…"

He looked up and realized that all these warm sensations he was feeling was a lie.

"Ah'm dreamin'…"

Ellis awoke to a start, seeing black.

He panicked when he realized that it was a blanket that had been draped over quickly pulled it off him and went to sit up but was in excruciating pain, a gun toppling onto the ground beside him with his hat. He peered around the dark room to see it empty.

"Nick? Coach? Rochelle?"

He called out their names, picking up his hat and putting it on slowly. His veins froze. They left him to die. Rather, they thought he was dead. His face paled as he picked up the gun, pushed the safety on, and looked at the wall to find a eulogy.

"Here lies Ellis "Overalls" "Aylus". One of the youngest but bravest of us all. Took on a Spitter, Hunter, and Tank on his own in his final moments. Never to be forgotten. August 20th."

His gut dropped. What day was it now? How far ahead did they get? He cocked his shotgun open and saw that the bullets had been taken. Another grim notice.

They thought he was dead…they weren't going to look for him.

They just left like gripped him as he tried to move but felt his skin pull. He needed a way to move—to get to New Orleans with the others.

Groaning, he stood up and breathed heavily over his knee, and caught his breath, shutting his eyes tightly in pain. "I'm still alive…" He breathed, placing his hand over his bruised rib and sucking in air through his teeth.

"I'm still alive…"

* * *

Rochelle had been pacing back and forth at the next safe house, quietly talking to herself in order to keep some sort of sanity. "We lost Ellis…oh my god, we lost Ellis…"

"Quit screwing around. The kid died because he was an idiot."

"Now I know you don't mean that, Nicholas."

Coach snapped back, hurt but not as obvious as Nick. Ellis had given his final kit to him. He could have used it—could have survived. Could have made it to New Orleans with them.

But in the end, he had managed to screw things up, take one too many hits for people, and die an idiot.

"He was an idiot…he should have stayed in the safe house…"

Coach sighed, knowing that he had to be strong for them but his heart too much at the moment to be able to. Nick was the one who was usually able to keep his emotions in check, but with the loss of Ellis, he wasn't too sure anymore. The kid had a way of being his anchor—a raison d'etre.

It wasn't out of spite or real anger that Nick was cursing Ellis in his grave (technically speaking of course, seeing as in the best they could do at the time was lay a sheet over his face), rather, it was out of deep guilt that gnawed away at him. The foundations of this man had been shaken. What did he know other than gambling and money? False love? Ellis had managed to successfully demonstrate his loyalty and love towards his party and in doing so, managed to confuse the con-man and coax him into another way of thinking.

Nick smashed the heel of his hand into his baggy eyes and rubbed at them furiously.

"We gotta keep moving. Rest now and keep moving." Nick said to the others in a dry voice. His throat had grown dry with dehydration and so he took a swig of the water that been left behind and took a look outside.

"We gotta make it. We can't afford to stop."

"Will you quit jerking us around! We're at a safe house, give us some time to mourn at the very least!"

Coach's voice boomed. He was angry. Beyond angry.

"Losing Ellis is hard enough, having you trying to bury things is harder! Pretend it never happened is your train of thought, isn't it?"

Coach now towered over Nick, the con-man trying to size him up but remembered that he was up against a football coach. He would definitely be able to throw the small man in the air without any problems.

"Isn't it?"

With a slight nod, Nick admitted to the truth. He was devastated. He hadn't seen anyone close to him die before his eyes before Ellis. He was the first one and, he hoped, the last one.

Without warning, Coach took Nick into his giant arms and gave him a (very) brief hug before he laid his hands on his shoulders.

"We'll get through this. You still have us, right?"

Another curt nod from Nick and the tall man looked back over at Rochelle, who was nearly hyperventilating on the ground.

"Just let it all out, now. We won't have the time later."

He reassured her and suddenly Nick felt very alone. He was used to that sort of feeling before he met the gang, and he was able to cope with it through different outlets—sleeping around, gambling…but when those things weren't around to comfort him he was on a whole different ball game. There was nothing for him to hide behind except for his own self-defense mechanism but Coach even tore that down. He was rendered helpless. In a defeated sigh, he slinked down to the ground and stared at the corner, getting lost in his thoughts. They were the only things that didn't let him down.

But alas, his thoughts still came down to the Georgian hick.

* * *

Ellis clung onto his gun with his left hand and hobbled along the sides of the building, watching out for signs of any zombies. He didn't dare breathe a word to even comfort himself, he knew that he was in more trouble than the last time he and Keith decided to go prank Dave in the middle of the night. What they didn't know was that Dave kept knives beside his bed and was trained and so when Keith went to jump him, he was stabbed thirty times.

Ellis let out a silent chuckle, his shoulders bouncing up and down a bit until he heard familiar gargling noises. He held his breath and looked around vehemently to try and locate the source of the noises, but he didn't have to look far. He inched behind a car and looked up at the sky for some sort of help before slowly crawling out of harm's way, his wounded arm trailing on the asphalt painfully, and he realized that he would have to tie it against his chest later on. He quickly discarded the idea and knew that he needed both hands to hold a gun.

He heard the garbles once more and he tried to go faster. An idea came to mind and he rolled under a car, biting hard onto his lip to keep himself from crying out in pain. The zombie walked right by him, dripping green goo. Instantly, he knew that it was a spitter. His arm throbbed in physical memory and his heart raced a million miles a minute.

He hadn't gotten too far from the safe house, but it felt like he had been traveling for longer. He couldn't risk his friends getting too far ahead of him, then he'd be dead for sure.

When the spitter finally cleared the area, Ellis rolled out and began hobbling over to the next building, focused purely on the need to get to safety. Sure, it wasn't safer inside a non-safe house, but it made him feel better somehow. He reached a worn down house and to his amazement, found a stash of ammo left on the ground.

"Oh yeah, that's what ah'm talkin' about. Come to daddy."

He grinned from ear to ear as he reloaded his shotgun and clicked it in place, caressing it playfully.

"Daddy's got ya. Oh yeah…hey…lookit…aaaalright, this is awesome! Sorry dead guy, ah gotta still live."

Ellis limped over to the body of a fallen survivor and took his first aid kit and muttered a quick thanks for him before picking up the pills and swallowing two in a go. With a quick nod, he knew now that he had a chance to live. A fighting chance, at the very least.

"Alright, let's get the show on the road!"

He began to head to the next safe house once more but this time, with more confidence in himself. As long as he had a gun and ammo, he felt safe.

"Hoo, Nick will piss his pants knowing I'm back from the grave."

He laughed a bit and pat his gun.

"Oh yeah, this is gonna be good now."

The hick made his way up the stairs, and got his second wind thanks to the pain pills and he could bear the pain at least for a little while. He stashed the remainder of the pills on his hip and quietly tread along the side of the street, being careful to move as slowly as possible to avoid any hordes. Once in a while he would wish he had a Molotov or a pipe bomb or hell, even a bottle of puke, but he could only work with what was given to him. He soon felt confident enough to take longer strides but it was dashed instantly when his toe kicked a can under a car. Stress began to pile on him as he felt a few dozen eyes suddenly turn to him, he freezing instantly.

"Oh hell no…"

The familiar scream of an oncoming horde resonated in the air and he began shooting at the stray zombies before even wanting to think about the horde that was about to make its assault on him. Ellis just barely had time to reload his gun before having to unleash it into the oncoming horde, his eyes wide with fear. It was expected but had become more daunting now that his comrades were not beside him to give him a helping hand.

He suddenly wished that he had more than his single fire shotgun and had an M16 at the very least. Something that felt like he was doing more than just releasing one round at a time and that wasn't such a fruitless effort. He had to swing his arm out a few times to give himself leeway so he could punch and fire quickly, but he never realized how utterly terrifying it was to go at it alone and if he didn't know that there were his comrades still alive, he could almost swear he was the last man on earth.

His arm had begun to throb dully once more as he constantly tried giving himself some room from all sides of him. It was almost as if he were an ambush but the trap he had sprung was entirely avoidable and it was only due to his carelessness that he was caught. He let out a yell and began to shoot and cock his gun faster, natural adrenaline pumping through his veins and speeding up his attacks. He had known somehow that it was all unavoidable. That one day, he was going to end up alone and that he'd have to fend for himself.

You know how they say that when you're on the verge of death; your entire life flashes in front of your eyes and you can remember everything so clearly, from birth to present day. Well, for Ellis, all he could think back on was his Ma and Keith. They were the only people he had left. If they had somehow managed to live through this hell and arrived at CEDA evac station.

Then what?

What would happen if they were a carrier? They'd get shot, that's what. Nick and Ellis had pointed it out enough times and seen it plenty more to understand what CEDA was actually up to. What they had planned for everyone. It wasn't as hidden in the dirt as the government thought because they were too busy trying to hole themselves up somewhere else. Away from the flu. Away from their problems. Away from the responsibility that came along with being part of the government. CEDA was lacking formation. New Orleans was the only bet they had left and he'd be damned if it didn't work out.

And suddenly, it was as if that episode of deep thought had never existed and the gunslinging Ellis was breathing hard, his shotgun empty of shells and around him lay countless of zombie bodies. His shoulders heaved with trial and he suddenly knew that he was screwed. If a horde was around, it usually meant that there was a special infected. A jockey, or a hunter, or something. And he'd have to deal with it on his own. Fear trickled down his spine as he quickly inserted the new ammo that he had brought with him and turned in circles, approaching the building across the street with an orange arrow painted on the wall. It was his only comfort, but he knew that he had to be a good ways away. He had just left his own safe room, how far would it be to the next? How many more hordes would pass by? He had enough ammo for one more horde, and god knows when he'd be able to find another ammo dump or a gun for that matter.

He swallowed hard, his adam's apple bobbing up and down a couple of times before his mouth went dry and throat cried out for water. Never was there a greater need for it than now.

His circular movement in search for more zombies slowly stopped and he began to walk a straight line, holding his breath for a few seconds at a time to try and listen for any special infected. The building was clear from any zombies and the hick could only assume that it was due to the fact that he had cleared them out during the horde attack. He let a smirk play over his lips and step over some glass, blood and guts strewn everywhere from a few zombies that had managed to grab civilians.

Bile rose to his throat as he crept on by, gently opening a door and spotting a dead zombie in a tub filled of bloodied water, what seemed to be a male zombie at the foot of the tub with his lifeless body leaning over the ceramic lip. His eyes shifted over to the side and fell upon a cabinet, which he opened and found a few stashes of pills. He took them and turned to the couple and removed his cap, whispering a silent prayer for them and headed out through the building once more. It was something like a community clinic, so he knew that he was bound to find something or other. No sooner than he had thought that did he come across a first aid kit. Instantly, he opened it and began cleaning and redressing his wounds the best he could, grunting as he did so.

"Damn…should have Ro or Nick look at this…not me, nu huh…I ain't no good for shit with this…"

He spoke to himself, trying to comfort himself in one way or another. It wasn't as reassuring as he thought it'd be, but it did the trick nicely and calmed him somehow enough so that he could sterilize and wrap the wounds he could get to. His ribs and back were two different things that he had no idea how to treat, but at least his arm would get tended to. Peeling off the bandage and gauze was one trial that he overcame with great difficulty, but actually looking at the wound was another.

His arm had corroded and melted to the point where he knew that there would be a scar leftover when it would heal properly. Gaps and holes had been stitched together courtesy of Rochelle but he knew that the acid had hit him pretty bad. He poked his fingers and gave a slight smile. There was feeling in them. Great. He wouldn't have to worry about that, but he wasn't sure why he was checking now when he had just managed to successfully take down a horde with his injured arm.

"Adrenaline, man."

He reminded himself, quickly pouring peroxide on the wound. Tears jumped to his eyes as he let out a muffled yell, wanting to pat away the liquids but he knew that it would only prove to make it worse. It took a good minute of enduring for the pain to finally subside and he was able to apply anti-bacterial cream and wrap it up properly, his eyes becoming unfocused as he stared ahead outside the window to see that there was a good line-up of zombies ripe for the picking but the safe house still quite far away. By walking through zombie-infested streets standards, anyways, but who's counting, right?

"Goddamn, this shit hurts…"

He grunted as he cradled his arm a bit and wrapped it in extra wadding, leaving his wrist and hand free to maneuver if need be in a tight situation. His mind wandered over to going back to the last ammo dump and picking up more shells but his pockets were quickly running out of space. He rubbed his eyes and began his trek outside once more, opening the door and making a quick sprint over to the next building and breathing harshly, holding his chest. The tank had managed to do damage to him but he couldn't think about it now. He had to get to the safe room.

Get to the safe room.

Get there fast.

Get there safe.

Preferably in one piece.

* * *

**AN: Part deux of what's already written. Person who commented (you remained anon, therefore I could not comment back u_u) I FIXED IT...I hope. I took this basically straight off a word document that was made up of a solid 19 pages...no chapters...I'm doing what I can to break it up nicely, I swear i~i  
**


	3. Angel's Luck

Angel's Luck

An irritable twitch had begun to develop in his left eye, his hand unconsciously going up to it to scratch it. He closed his eyes for a mere moment and heard something off in the distance. His eyes opened and he cocked his gun, bringing it close to him, his breath catching in his throat. It wasn't a zombie. What was it? It seemed too familiar…too…

"A dog?"

His eyes widened as he saw a dog barking at a zombie and growling at it, lips snarled back and backing away from it in caution. The zombie approached it for a moment but quickly lost interest. Ellis stared at the dog as it flashed through the zombies like a dart and found breathing room near the clinic Ellis had stayed in.

"Holy shit…damn, smart pup!"

He grinned from ear to ear as he watched the dog growling at approaching zombies, the collar bristling up and ears pressing against its head in a warning. The zombie stayed back once more, confusing Ellis.

"I thought them zombies liked moving things…"

Ellis mused, watching as he dog growled a bit more and then whimpered, laying down and pressing its nose in between its paws. A border collie, Ellis knew, was one of the smartest dogs. He didn't know how he didn't place the breed earlier and blamed the pain growing in his ribs and back and shrugged it off.

The dog looked up at him with pleading eyes and thumped its tail, Ellis feeling compelled to approach it. Out of sheer habit, he scanned both sides of the street and approached the dog cautiously, getting to one knee to get to eye level with it. He held a hand out to it and watched as it stood and slowly approached him, sniffing his hand and then licking the bloodied knuckles.

"Hey now, you ain't so bad."

He grinned and reached to scratch behind the collie's ear, the dog's tail thumping in happiness. He took a quick peek under the dog and grinned.

"A girl, huh? Got a name, girl?"

The dog cocked her head to the side and panted happily, welcoming the affection that the mechanic had been giving her. She sniffed his arm and gave a whimper, resting her head on his knee.

"Hehe, yeah, pup. I'm hurt a'plenty. Ain't gonna stop me from getting to th' safe house. Wanna come with? Won't be so lonely."

He grinned, earning a bark of approval that stopped his heart. His head spun around and saw that the zombies quickly became interested in the new sound and begun to horde once more.

"Aw, Christ in a hand basket…"

He cocked his gun and stood up, ready to face the new threat that came with a new friend. Hell, it was better than learning how to learn how to trust someone all over again.

The collie had readied herself in a fighting stance and gave a few more barks and then growled. Ellis knew that she could ward off one zombie at a time, but a horde was an entirely different thing. He heard the familiar wail and knew that he'd have to definitely backtrack for more ammo after this horde. The first zombies came in random spurts and were easily dealt with using a single shot, but the horde was a different thing. When they came, the last thing he expected was the collie to rush out at them full speed and launch herself at them, knocking their knees out from under them. The zombies began toppling over each other and Ellis grinned, knowing that he now had the upper hand. He took a few steps closer and took no time to wipe out the horde with less bullets than last time.

"Man, oh, man, I should call ya Lucky! 'Cept I had a guinea pig named Lucky…poor guy…Ma sucked him up in a vacuum."

He shook his head at the memory and couldn't help but laugh as the horde quickly diminished thanks to the help of the new dog. She had nothing short than saved him from the enemy. His laugh filled the streets as the last zombie dropped dead. He threw his good arm up in the air out of sheer joy and then dropped to his knees, excitedly petting his new companion and scratching her belly.

"You an' me make a team! Yeah! Ho boy, yer a keeper! Pure luck! I cannot believe it! Haha!"

The collie barked excitedly and proceeded to lick his face and shower him with as much love as a dog could give.

"Man, a real Godsend! I'mma name you Angel! I was keepin' it fer Zoey, but I'm guessin' that there kin be more n' one angel, right?"

Angel wagged her tail happily and nudged his hand for more pets, earning them more than readily from the mechanic.

"Alright, let's go, Angel, an' find Nick and Ro and Coach. They'll have a hoot!"

He laughed and kissed the side of Angel's muzzle and fixed his cap, looking at the streets now with newfound courage.

He was going to make it alive.

* * *

Rochelle had managed to shoot down a horde of zombies with her dual pistols, Coach backing her up with his AK47 and Nick gunning down the Spitter behind him.

A Spitter.

Fuck he hated them and their spit-shit and ugly tits and fucking ugly pink fucking thong and it was probably as whoreish as a zombie could get and he fucking hated it for taking Ellis away from them. Fury rose off the con-man's shoulders as he let out a yell and shot it dead in a few simple bullets and then spinning around to take out the remainder of the horde. He hated Rochelle for putting the mechanic in the situation he was in—sacrificing himself for her sake. He hated Coach for helping Rochelle before helping Ellis—the one who was writhing on the ground in pain. Most of all, he hated himself for using his damn health kit. He wanted to hit himself for allowing the hick to give him the very thing that could have saved his life. If he was healed mere moments before…if he hadn't used it on himself…

"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!"

Nick yelled as he forcibly flung his gun away from him and watched it satisfyingly hit the curb with a few clinking noises. Rochelle and Coach exchanged glances. They knew that Nick was taking it the worst of them, but they didn't think that he was that close to the person that they all thought that he hated. They all knew that he was beating himself up for using the young man's health kit, but to the extent of the self-hatred that he was feeling? It was nothing short of awkward for them all.

"Nicholas…now listen here, it isn't your fault."

"Damn right it isn't! He should have woken us up! He shouldn't have had to take on the horde on his own! Or that tank, or that charger, or that motherfucking spitter bitch! Why the hell did you drop your health kit in the first place, huh! How the hell can you manage something as stupid as that!"

Rochelle was visibly shaken now. She had mentally hit herself over and over again at the same thought and couldn't quite get over it herself. She was in as much turmoil as the con-man but she tried to be strong. She needed to keep it together.

But as soon as Coach wrapped his arm around her and brought her behind him to stop Nick from verbally assaulting her, the dams broke and she began bawling.

"Shut it, I know, alright! I'm not as heartless as you are!"

"Well maybe you shouldn't have dropped the health kit-"

A whopping force came into contact with the side of Nick's face, his vision seemed to have a heartbeat all of a sudden and he stumbled backwards, Coach grasping onto his shoulder to keep him steady but did so with hesitance as he shook his hand that he struck Nick with.

"Nicholas, you're not the only one upset! But we have to keep going! If you take a minute to stop blaming everyone around you and yourself, you'll see that everything happened the way it did because there was nothing there we could do to stop it! What else are we supposed to do now! We can only pray for him, Nicholas, but we gotta keep moving!"

Nick, for the first time, was shocked by the larger man's words. He didn't know what to expect from him, least of all to expect a punch from the Coach. He held onto his jaw and rubbed it a bit, tears stinging his eyes but he definitely refused for that to fall. He shuffled over to his fallen gun and picked it up, the dead weight in his chest growing heavier as he tried to keep it there but failed.

"Dammit, Overalls!"

He yelled, clutching onto the gun tightly and wanting to ram it into the ground uselessly or fire it off over and over again but there was no way that he would do that knowing that he'd be wasting bullets or wrecking his gun.

"Calm yourself, Nicholas. We'll backtrack and rest at the last safe house. We need time to mourn…"

"Screw mourning! That bastard…that bastard…"

Rochelle quietly stepped over to the con-man and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing. Surprisingly enough, he hugged her back just as tightly and shuddered a breath.

"He was just a kid…"

"I know…I know…"

Was all she was able to say without worrying about crying harder. She blinked back tears and looked over at the CEDA search lights in the distance. It was some ways to go and it was dead in the middle of the night. Wherever they were, they'd have to backtrack it or risk losing themselves to the zombies out of sheer fatigue—the stupidest way to go down.

"You're right…I should have watched over the med kit better…I should have taken the shot…not Ellis…he's always watching out for us…was…"

She silently corrected herself, pulling away from Nick and seeing the hurt etched deeply in his face. It was killing him knowing that the mechanic was dead. He would still blame himself no matter how many times they told him that it wasn't his fault nor anyone's fault. Hell, they'd all be blaming themselves. It wasn't the same without him around to crack a joke or tell a Keith story. He was their upbeat little fireball. It was too weird for him to be gone just like that.

"I don't believe he's dead."

Nick finally spoke, the words somehow giving him strength.

"I'm going back."

"Nick, we understand, we really do…but we just can't. We can't go back to that safe house. We know he's dead, we checked several times. There's no way for him to be _alive_ with all the damage he took." Rochelle tried reasoning with the con-man to no avail. Once his mind was set, it was set. There was no changing it and no one would stop him. He turned his back on them and began to back-track, the two older ones following but knew that they'd have to stop him if he went any further. "Coach…"

"Don't worry, baby girl, he's not going to go back." Rochelle gave a sigh and nodded, reassured. She knew that he would be able to stop him if it boiled down to it.

* * *

Ellis had managed to reach a house and lay on a bed, breathing heavily. His lungs felt as if they were on fire. He was getting lost. He could feel his comrades weren't too far away but he had no knowledge of how far or how close they were. He looked over at the collie and gave a slight grin.

"Man, I wish I had something for you to sniff so yeh could find the others fer me."

He toyed with the idea before shaking his head and being brought back to reality. He closed his eyes and draped his arm over his face, his other arms trembling in pain. The pills had begun to wear off and he knew that it was going to be time to pop another couple of them before continuing. Angel hopped onto the bed with him and crawled up to his face, licking his chin and crying a bit, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah…thanks girl…I can really count on you."

He scratched her ear and felt himself sagging into the bed.

"Man, I'm all tuckered out…"

He let out a sigh and waited for the pain to subside a bit, but it never did. He had managed to travel a few good miles into the city and knew that he was close to the safe house but still hopelessly lost. The sound of familiar growling began to grow louder and louder, Angel's head shooting up and her ears twitching. She whined a bit and turned her head to Ellis before looking back out the window.

"I hear him, I hear him…now stay quiet like, y'hear?"

Angel thumped her tail on the bed and quickly got down, pressing her belly close to the ground and silently crept towards the door, Ellis sneaking behind the side of the bed and staring at the area where Angel was.

"C'mere, girl…dangit, I dunwanna have you get hurt…"

He called over to her, his eyes widening as a hunter began to approach the collie, she barking at it consistently.

The hunter seemed only somewhat phased but continued towards her anyways. Ellis pointed his gun at the hunter and swallowed hard, knowing that it took more than one shot to bring one down and it would jump around a bit when shot at first. But he couldn't risk that and the pup with the way he was feeling. Angel kept barking until the hunter took a swipe at her muzzle, blood flying onto the ground in dribbles and earning cries from the dog. Ellis took no hesitation in releasing a round into the hunter and cocked his gun quickly, shooting it a second time. Angel backed away and cowered next to Ellis, swinging her head back and forth as if trying to rid of the pain. Ellis waited until the hunter backed away and jumped back towards him to finish it off with two more shots. He dropped to his knees and went over her muzzle with care, the pup whimpering.

"It ain't deep…here…"

He unslung his kit from his back and pulled out a few gauze bandages and antiseptic and poured it over the wound and patting off the blood.

"I ain't never treated a dog before…shoot, I can't even wrap it up…"

He knew that he'd have to leave it the way it was and keep an eye on it. Tape didn't stick to fur and she needed to use her mouth, so he was in a bind.

"Let's keep going, girl…shouldn't be too far now."

He opened the bottle of painkillers and swallowed two of them dry. He picked up his gun and ruffled Angel's fur before standing up and inhaling painfully.

"Yup. Them pills wore off. Dang…"

He looked down at him comrade and rested his hand on her head.

"You too, eh partner?"

Her tail whirled around in a circle and she began to lead him this time, earning a laugh from the hick.

"Hell, you know the way? Shoot, shoulda followed you in the start!"

She remained silent as she strode ahead in gentle trots, Ellis realizing that his own walking had been slowed from the pain. He just needed the pain pills to take effect now.

* * *

There had been only one more safe house gap between the three survivors and the safe house where they had laid Ellis to rest. Nick had been cutting logs for a while alongside Rochelle, Nick's back pressed into a bag of dog food and Rochelle on the only available sleeping bag. Coach was staring blankly ahead outside, thick pearly tears dribbling down the corners of his eyes with a face contorted in obvious pain. The only reason why he wasn't bellowing out in agony was for the fact that the others were sleeping. He was hurting. Bad. He had insisted that he take the first watch only so that he could be the first one to cry his heart out.

"I shoulda gotten you first, young'un…shoulda…shoulda healed you…shoulda watched first…"

The large man made no effort to wipe away his tears. It was a pain that they all felt and if anyone was awake to hear the man crying, they at least had the decency to turn their backs to him and let him do so. Rochelle had done her share of crying and Nick simply didn't cry—he threw tantrums. Shouted at the heavens. Cursed loudly every chance he got. But it still didn't justify his heart. Coach had tried being strong for them but it simply wasn't working out. He needed to express his own grief in silence.

"I know you can hear me somehow, boy…an' I hope that you're doing alright where you are…"

He pulled a rosewood rosary from his pocket and began praying on the beads, his heart growing heavier and heavier with each prayer said and each bead passed.

It didn't take long for him to break down in a fresh batch of tears and have to stop midway through a prayer, his hand clasping onto his forehead as he inhaled deeply.

"Dammit, boy…how the hell do you manage half the shit you do and then go dyin' on us?"

The Savannahite had known that the boy existed pre-apocalyptica due to the fact that he had passed his shop on several occasions and saw him working on some car or other with his other crew member but never paid any heed to him—never thought he'd have to. To be blunt, the coach didn't care that he existed before the outbreak and only now did he care about it.

"Nora…please be safe with the kids…"

His shoulders shuddered as he thought to his own family who had run away on their own while he was evacuating with the students from the high school. He suddenly missed the feeling of his wife's arms around him and the itty hands of his children pawing at him for attention. They had always been on his mind but it seemed even more prominent now that he had the grief of a lost one on his head and he couldn't help but wonder what happened to his own family. He looked over at the battery-operated clock hanging haphazardly on the wall and knew that it would be time for Rochelle to wake up to take up her shift. It somehow seemed wrong to wake her up for such a menial task, but it was important when being in such a small and open room. Accidents like what happened with Ellis could repeat itself and that was the last thing that they wanted, He wiped his eyes with shaking hands and bowed his head properly this time, clasping his hands around his rosary and restarted his prayers from the beginning; praying not only for Ellis and his family, but for every other survivor who lost loved ones.

* * *

**AN: Egads, I'm so sorry for the walls of text…**


	4. My Buddy Keith

My Buddy Keith

Ellis breathed heavily as he grasped onto his ribs, his back pressed against a building and arm pulled against the cool bricks. It had begun to burn something fierce when the pills wore off and the new ones didn't have time to kick into effect yet. Angel had stopped when she realized that the boy was going nowhere for a while and backtracked it over to him, nudging his leg with her muzzle now matted with dry blood.

"It…it ain't…"

He groaned in pain when he tried speaking, his lungs vibrating with pain. Angel bit onto his pants and tired egging him to move more but stopped when the step he took sent him reeling to the ground, his good arm stopping him from planting his face into the concrete. Angel approached him and licked his face, crying a bit.

"Yep…don't look too good…"

He looked up at the zombies near him who didn't seem to be too interested in the hick.

Did he already smell dead to them?

The collie sniffed his hat and suddenly grasped the bill between her teeth and took off at the drop of a dime, giving Ellis only a few seconds to realize that she wasn't going to come back or wait for him. He chuckled a few times sadly and sat back against the wall, cocking his gun and breathing easy for a few moments.

"I wouldn't wait for me neither. Still wish you didn't take my hat…"

He wanted to throw a tantrum about his beloved cap but knew that he had no strength to do so. The zombies, still unaware of him, shuffled along noisily. He closed his eyes and shoved his hand into his pocket, pulling out an adrenaline shot. If the pills weren't going to help right away, this would. He clicked open the button and jabbed it in his leg. Mere moments later and he was on his feet, the empty cartridge thrown to the side. He was going to cover more ground now unless…

Growling noises. Deep thrummed growling.

…unless a tank were to show. He fingered the trigger and furrowed his eyebrows, looking around desperately for some route to take to put some sort of distance between him and the overgrown zombie. The adam apple in his throat bobbed up and down in anxiety and he felt sweat start to form on his temples and trickle down his spine. He checked his shells and knew that he at least had enough to take down a tank, but not without having to get close to it and causing higher damage. Teeth bit lip and there it was in all its inglory—the massive tank. He prepared himself and as soon as it came within firing distance, he released his first shot into it with a yell.

"Die! Die!"

He yelled as it thundered towards him, gorilla arms swinging in the air. He tried to back away from it but knew it was inevitable—when a tank had its eye on you, there was nowhere you could run to. The back of the tank's hand wound up and struck Ellis clean against his side, blinding pain searing through him. His mind reeled and all information seemed to have turned a blindingly white color from the time he was in the air until a few moments after he hit the ground. The adrenaline shot had numbed most the pain, he knew, but if this was most of the pain numbed, he would have had to take another shot when he could find it.

He clutched onto his torso and in one labored breath, rolled away from the tank and rolled onto the balls of his feet. He pushed himself up and kept shooting at the tank as he did so, seeing it approach him and barrel him backwards once more, his body soaring through the air. For a fleeting, heart stopping moment, he saw the ground beneath him still rushing backwards and not coming up yet. His brain had enough time to think 'this is going to hurt' and brace himself. The whites of his eyes took over his iris and pupils as he made contact with a glass window and then rolled to a stop, his breath caught in his throat. He took one second to look up and see a weighted fist come crushing down on him, the ceramic tiling of the store breaking free and pushing into his torso. He let out a pained yell and with one hand, grabbed his gun and shot it once more, his eyes wild and nose trickling fresh blood onto his upper lip. He lay there for a moment, breathing in pain as he realized that the tank stopped attacking. He painfully rolled out of the way just in time for the behemoth to fall to its knees dead. Ellis gave an excited cheer and then remained in his sprawled out position. It hurt too much to move.

He closed his eyes and brought his gun to his lips and kissed it.

"Baby, for all the shit I've said to you…I love you…"

He tried laughing at his own joke but his tango with death left him more than breathless. He needed to rest, he knew. But he couldn't afford to stop now. Couldn't afford to let his guard down and simply kick back. He rolled onto all fours, pain exploding in his head and eyes squeezed together to try and have everything register in his brain before he tried moving again. He stumbled backwards into a shelf and used it to keep himself propped up, his eyes still half-clenched shut as he peered around the room. The only thing that made him feel better was the place where he landed. He would never have found it without the tank. "Holy shit, it's Christmas!" He exclaimed as he went to push his hat back but realized it wasn't there. He settled for running his fingers through his hair and grin from ear to ear.

"Gun store! Scoooore!"

He gathered his bearings and popped more pills, trying not to OD himself in the process.

* * *

Nick watched the vermillion sun rise in over the horizon, his eyes strained as he let out a monstrous yawn, his hands scratching the back of his head. He'd been keeping watch now for the last few hours and sleep weighed heavily on his eyes but he forced himself to keep them open.

"Okay, Nick…just a few more hours…"

He spoke to himself, letting out a massive yawn and making no attempt to be discreet about it.

"C'mon, baby, you want some sleep?"

Rochelle drawled out, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She pulled her hair back in its bun and tied it tightly, Nick turning to look over at her. God, she was beautiful when she looked like a mess. A grin crept onto his face as he turned around, facing the sun once more.

"I'm good."

"I never asked you if you were good or not, I asked you wanted sleep."

He swung his head around to see a coy smile on her lips and standing at her full height, her flashy Depeche Mode shirt being more of an eyesore than anything. He wished she could just take it off. Then he realized where his thoughts had wandered to and he couldn't help but grin once more.

"Hell yeah, I want sleep. I want to sleep until tomorrow. But that's not going to happen right now."

"So you were just whining then, hm?"

"I didn't say-"

Nick and Rochelle both let out a yell and backed up, Nick toppling off his crate and Rochelle falling onto her rump.

"Sweet Jesus! What is that thing!"

Coach immediately woke up and made a grab for his gun, his head clear and eyes focused on the apparent danger. However, what came next was the last thing any of them expected. The same force launched itself against the door and this time, they were able to make out the dog clearly. Angel knew now that she had caught their attention and pawed at the door, whining. She dropped the hat and let out one bark before picking up the hat once more in her mouth and placing both paws up on the grills of the window, wagging her tail furiously. Nick's eyes widened as he lunged at the door and ripped the hat out of her mouth, turning it over and over in his hands.

"Overalls…"

Angel barked a few times and then took off once more, leaving the survivors alone to wonder.

"Does this mean he's alive…?"

"Hell yeah it does, boy!"

Coach burst out laughing and gripped both of Nick's shoulders, rocking him back and forth with hearty laughter.

"What if the dog just found this…?"

Rochelle looked down glumly at the cap, almost refusing to believe the possibility of their friend being alive. Nick's eyes narrowed as he turned to her, his shoulders stiff and squared.

"Aren't I the one who's supposed to be pessimistic here?"

"Yeah, but, Nick…we checked him over…he wasn't…"

"Well, I know one thing's for sure, he's going to have to pass through this safe house. I dunno about you two, but I don't want to go on without the young'un."

Coach placed both his hands on his hips and leaned backwards, mouthing silent thanks and blessings on the Lord. Nick, for once, looked rather positive about this. He knew that there was no way this sign could be wrong.

"Ellis is out there. And he's still hurt. I'm going to look for him."

"Honey, we don't know where he is or how far he's gotten…"

"If that dog came from that direction, he's out there in the city somewhere."

"Well, well, lookit you, Nicholas. So adamant about saving him. I thought you hated the boy?"

"Shut up and let's get going."

Nick stocked up on ammo and plowed on ahead, his face set and determined to move on. He was not going to leave behind the man he owed more than one favor to.

* * *

Ellis breathed harshly as he holed himself in the closet of the gun shop. He had a grenade launcher strapped onto his back with a military sniper and firmly cradled onto an automatic shotgun. He had two pistols pushed into his overalls and a machete firmly hanging from his waist. He didn't feel vulnerable like this. Despite using his health kit on Angel and being in the worst pain imaginable, he knew that the worst was over the moment he found guns. He had debated whether or not to bring ammo with him but decided against it and brought the extra guns instead. They wouldn't jangle around in his pockets nor get lost like bullets would, and the fact that they covered his back now, no matter how slight, comforted him, and he was able to rest in a closet. Albeit being tiny and he had to scrunch up his legs so that he would fit in, he knew that there was almost no risk for him to be spotted by zombies and attacked. They could break down the door but only if they knew he was there, and without Angel, he was able to do so silently without her barking (though he did miss it).

The only thing that really tormented him now was the fact that he was alone. Utterly alone. He needed sleep and it terrified him knowing that sleep was near impossible without the fear of being attacked. Being alone meant sleeping in fear. But he needed it bad. He got as comfortable as he could, not wanting to take off his guns, and nodded off, one hand resting on the doorknob and the other one lain across his stomach.

Ellis watched his Ma climb on board the helicopter and took a step back, shoving children and other women inside the helicopter as well.

"ELLIS! ELLIS! COME ON, SON!"

He could remember his Ma so well. Her chestnut hair escaped its bun and flew messily in her face as the wind gushed all around them. She was crying. His heart hurt but he knew that she had always taught him that in case of an emergency, to always have women, children, and the elderly led to safety first. He was a proud man when his Ma was around. Always stand tall. Always protect her. Be by her side. Pa was gone and he had to help her as much as he could and fill in the shoes that belonged to his father.

"ELLIS!"

"G'bye, Ma! I love you! I'll see you later, okay! I'm taking the next whirlie bird outta here!"

"ELLIS, THERE'S NO-"

Her voice was lost over the helicopter and he could see other women trying to restrain her back. The chopper was filled. There was no way he could fit inside, and he could see teenagers waiting to board as well and they'd have priority over him.

If only he knew that he had watched the last chopper leave.

If only he hadn't gotten to the hotel roof too late to miss the other one.

If only he knew that would be the last time he saw his mother…the last memory of her would be her crying, frantic, worried face laced with fear for her son. He didn't want to let her leave on her own, but it was the only choice. He hoped that he had filled his Pa's shoes enough with his final act of courage. And now he was paying for it dearly.

"You're such an idiot…"

Nick spoke to him, picking his nails clean and leaning against the side of the building. Ellis furrowed his eyebrows and knew something was wrong. Nick wasn't there when he saw his Ma off. "Nick?"

"It's okay, sweetie. You did what you had to do."

"Rochelle?"

The African woman materialized, she picking up health kits and handing them to Nick and the mechanic.

"Girl's right. You did good."

"Coach…? Aw hell, I'm dreaming…"

"Smartass. Took you long enough. What, wanted to see your _Ma_ again?"

Nick stressed the word 'Ma' with the hick accent, Ellis rolling his eyes.

"Damn, I'm tired…but I'm asleep…damn it all…"

He had no idea how to wake himself from a lucid dream. It was as if he were stuck inside a ball and no matter how many times he'd try to force the rubber apart, it wouldn't tear.

"Well, young'un? Were you lonely?"

"Yeah, kinda. Man, oh, man, I kinda hate myself now…my brain's even playin' tricks on me…"

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what else to say. Just being in their company made him feel better—welcomed. Part of something. Not lonely.

He slung the health kit onto his back and he was suddenly on the hotel roof once again. A grin spread out across his face as he went over to the table and picked up an axe, weighing it a bit with a firm grin and keeping it at hand. He knew the drill for this.

"Alright, everybody, follow me."

This was right. This, although it was their first run against zombies, was their best run. It wasn't hard. He met people he could trust. He was just damn ready for it. He closed his eyes once and just like that, they were at the elevator, headed down. They were all silent, seeing as in they all knew each other's name, and waited until they got to the floor level. Ellis pried open the doors with Coach's help and instead of seeing a blazing inferno, was greeted by someone totally unexpected—His Ma. She had turned into a witch and was sobbing. Why? He didn't know. Well, had a vague idea of why, leaving her and all, but before he could think anymore, the other three survivors went at her with their pistols and axes and crowbars and dove in on her. Their weapons found their mark and he was stunned to the spot in horror.

"M-Ma…you…killed her…"

"You shoulda gone with her, bud. Shoot, I tried to keep her safe for as long as I could, but yanno…"

"Keith?" Ellis tore his gaze from his Ma to the taller man before him, he sporting a goatee and a longer hairstyle that needed to be tied back at the base of his head. He was covered in bruises, blood, and old scars while holding onto a military shotgun. "Lemme help ya, buddy. We'll be together again." And just like that, with three shots, Keith had gunned down Nick, Rochelle, and Coach. "NO!" A horrible cry left his throat as he watched them twitch on the ground, their mouths hung open wordlessly. Rochelle and Coach had died instantly, but when he looked at Nick, he could see that he still fought to cling onto life. "Ellis…"

_BAM BAM!  
_"KEITH!" Ellis was too dumbfounded to say anything else. His mouth wouldn't form the words. He didn't know what else to say other than shouting out the name of his best friend who finished off the job. "What is it, buddy?" Enraged, Ellis formed a punch and leapt at his buddy Keith, ready to hit him in one go. The fist never connected.

* * *

**AN: That's that for the updates for today. More coming when I get to edit them thanks for reading! **


	5. Gut Feeling

Gut Feeling

Ellis gasped awake and realized that sometime between trying to get into a comfortable position after his nightmare, his guns had come loose off his back and had become entangled with his arms. The pain in his head had dulled a little bit thanks to the sleep, but his chest and ribs were crying out in pain whenever he moved. His fingers found the bottle of pills in his pocket and he popped a few of them in his mouth, resting his back against the wall once more in pain.

The dream had been just that—a dream, or rather a nightmare.

Like it or not, he knew that his brain was working in overdrive because of stress and pain. Among other things, his stomach gave a loud grumble and his mouth was gummed up with thick saliva. Hunger and thirst. He turned the handle slowly and pushed the door open a crack, seeing that there were still no zombies that had wandered into the store but it was definitely daytime. The sun had hidden behind the clouds and a fine mist hung like a cloak in the air and gently moistened the windows and pavement. Ellis closed the door once again and sighed, pushing himself up and using the back of the wall as a support. His entire body screeched out in pain but there was no more time left for him to wait around and hope to heal overnight, he had to keep going. The mechanic shrugged his shoulders back and fixed the guns on his shoulders while clenching tightly onto the auto shotgun in his hands and began his trek to find food. Any sort of food. Something to fill the hole in his belly and cool the lava in his throat and distract him from the pain in his torso and arm.

A slight headache began to ebb into his head to boot but that didn't come as a surprise. After all, he took down a tank on his own!

"Shoot, that's one t'tell Nick an 'em."

He grinned and began his arduous journey across the street, gunning down anything in his path. Silently, he wished to have someone by his side once again. The absence of company from his newfound (and recently lost) companion weighed on his mind. Had she encountered another hunter? What if it was something worse?

He couldn't think about it now. The first complication of crossing the street had been dealt with, now it was time to find a first aid kit once more to fix his arm that had begun throbbing something fierce. Road rash on top of burns was the least of his concern, it what could have been underneath the skin that scared him. He kept on plodding ahead, blazing his trail and leaving behind him an unholy mess, not realizing that the further he went, the further he was from reaching the right safe house.

* * *

Night fell and Ellis had become breathless and tired. His body hunched over in pain as he made his final strides to a house and yanked the door open, knowing that he had to rest. At least sit down and find something to drink, forget eat. He noticed that the room was void of any of the walking dead but tread lightly nonetheless. He made his way to the kitchen and instantly covered his nose. The smell of rotting food and mold wafting from the fridge nearly made him gag. So, he opted to make a beeline to the pantry instead, frowning in disdain. The food there had been ravaged through, leaving behind nothing but a few cans of condensed milk and cornstarch.

He scoffed and shut the pantry, unsure what even condensed milk was, and headed to the closet. Usually that held some sort of goodies or other. To his delight, there sat the most wondrous bag of beauty he'd ever seen. "Beef jerky, alright!" He reached inside and tore the bag open with his good arm and teeth and proceeded to pluck out a piece, stuffing it in his mouth and beginning the long process of chewing. He put the jerky to the side and continued to scrounge through the closet, shoving aside plastic bags and cardboard boxes to find peanut butter, crackers, and pretzels. Ellis let out a low whistle and collected his goodies and brought them to the table in the kitchen and popped another piece of jerky in his mouth. He went over to the sink and turned on the faucet to see the water was still running. He let out a cry of joy and shoved his mouth under the water, sucking in the precious contents in one breath. He pulled away and grasped onto his ribs, shutting one eye and breathing harshly in pain, a smile etched across his face still.

"Shoot, I didn't think I'd miss the simple things in life…runnin' water…"

He scoffed and lowered his head once more, sucking the water in until it filled his belly. He took advantage of the water and stuck his head under the tap, his eyes widening in pain and relief both. He closed his eyes in sheer euphoria and opened them to watch the grime, guts, puke, and blood swirl down into the drain. He raised his head and stuck his hands in the water and splashed it on his face, rubbing it into his skin and rinsing it off once more. He unwound the bandage on his arm and winced back at it, seeing it still a grotesque red color. Once more, he took advantage of the water and stuck his arm under it, tears springing to his eyes as the cold pained him to the bone. Nerves screamed and hollered at him until he pulled away and found a dishcloth pad away the water. He left it out in the air to dry, wincing at the thought of now having to leave it unbandaged until he could find another first aid kit.

He made his way over to the jar of peanut butter and twisted it open, picking up a piece of jerky and then scooping out the oily contents onto it and proceeded to eat his meal. It was, by zombie apocalypse standards, the best meal he had. The one thing he was sure of was that there was no way he was going to leave without some food and water. He didn't know how he'd carry it with all the guns he had, but he didn't want to risk not finding something later on and regret not having it.

"Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it, I always say."

He spoke to himself, pulling up a chair and keeping his eyes on the entrances to the kitchen, making sure that he had not been found out from any of the zombies surrounding the house.

* * *

Nick pushed through the last bit of zombies and breathed harshly. He realized that they had been going in circles but he was unsure of how to get out of the habit. His mind was too focused on getting the hick back while being led on a cold trail thanks to a dog.

Stupid mutt.

What if it did just pick up the hat and follow the scent to them because it wanted food?

If that was the case and they went back to a rotting corpse, Nick was going to hurl. He had mentally prepared himself knowing full-well that if it was a dead Ellis they were returning to, he was going to be as ready as possible to deal with the issue. It was his closure if anything.

"You think the zombies would go down in number if we passed through this area already…"

Coach panted, looking up the side of a building and sighing through his nose, grunting at the same time. He had vaguely remembered going through an apartment building but he wasn't quite sure which one.

"Listen, boys, as much as I want to think-"

"Rochelle, sweetie, I don't like to be rude with women, but I'll make this one exception—shut the hell up, okay? Maybe you don't think that the kid is alive, but I'm a gambling man. If you don't want to follow me, fine. But I'm going back for the inbred hick."

Rochelle broke out in a half-hearted smile, glad to know that Nick hadn't completely hated Ellis but she also knew that if he was wrong, and if they were going back to a dead man…

She shuddered slightly, not wanting to think about it. She continued to follow Nick in silence and traveled up a ladder, trying a different path this time. Her eyes met Nick's for a brief moment and she realized that he was determined to settle down his gut feeling if it meant putting himself in danger.

"I guess this is your way of paying off your favor, huh, Nick?"

The conman turned towards her with a slight smile and rubbed his cheek, feeling the stubble growing more into a beard by the day.

"Yeah, and then we'll be even."

Rochelle let out a meek smile as they passed through the apartment, realizing that the way was seeming more familiar now. They had managed to stop their circle routine.

"Hey…the safe house is close…we just have to cross the junkyard and we're there…!"

She exclaimed, earning another wordless grin from Nick. His tongue dragged along his lower lip and he continued pushing through the rooms to get to the stairs.

It was a long shot, but if he was alive, then he was out there. Fighting alone.

Utterly alone.

"The kid's probably hiding somewhere either terrified as hell or attracting zombies of all kinds…never know, he's a lunatic like that."

Coach joked, imagining Ellis holding onto a gun in each hand and releasing fire upon a horde. The mental image made the older man chuckle and rub the side of his neck, hope sparking within him. There was hope.

The group traversed through the junkyard and came upon the safe house, Nick resisting the urge to sprint forwards and throw open the door. Anything could be waiting inside—even probably Ellis in zombie form.

The conman's gut dropped at the thought.

He'd have to shoot him if it were the case.

He didn't want to think about it.

To his surprise, it was Rochelle who made the break for the door, her legs pumping hard as she thundered past the two men. Nick and Coach exchanged glances and broke out into a sprint too, Nick gaining more ground than the agile woman. He couldn't stand the wait any longer. He couldn't stand not knowing any longer.

He needed to know.

* * *

**AN: Short chappie, but more is on the way! R & R please~ I love them dearly. I really do. ._.**


	6. Limping Buddies

Limping Buddies

Nick threw open the safe house door and ran in, eyes immediately falling to where Ellis should have been laid to rest. In one heart wrenching moment, he let out a cry and backed away from the spot. Rochelle had been the second one in and let out a screech, falling to her knees immediately and covering her mouth, tears flowing from her eyes. Coach finally made it to the safe house and shut it behind them, staring at the same spot as the other two. His entire body trembled. Fear, anxiety, adrenaline, God, who knew? All he could manage to do was let out a hearty, relieved laugh.

"Damn you, boy! You're still out there, ain't you!"

The large man felt tears leak from the corners of his eyes, his palms trying to wipe them away in vain.

There, where the mechanic was supposed to be, lay a crumpled up sheet and a vacant spot smeared with old blood. The boy and his gun were both gone.

"Ellis! Ellis, do you hear me, boy! Are you here!"

Coach shouted, going through the safe room in search of the young man. Nick approached the spot and fell to his knees, his shoulders trembling.

He was right. He was right, he was right, he was right!

"I knew the hick wouldn't stay down! I just knew it!"

He held a clenched fist out in front of him and saw it blur up. Relief and guilt overcame him. They left him there to die without knowing it. He was somewhere out there alone.

"You were right, Nick. A gambling man you are. Now where in the world is Carmen San Diego?"

Rochelle questioned after a few minutes of recollecting herself and mustering herself up enough to sit on a crate, holding onto her forehead.

"Ellis…oh God…I can't believe we did this…Nick, you were right about this, where do you think he'd go next?"

Nick felt the burden of the group weigh heavily down on his shoulders. He wasn't sure. He didn't know. How was he supposed to? A dog played the messenger for the first part, and he went off that and instinct, where the hell was he supposed to get his sign now?

Coach picked up a can of spray paint and crossed off their eulogy for the mechanic and turned to the other two.

"We should rest here for the night. Dejavu from being here already…Ro, I don't think even if Nick knew the answer we'd be able to go anywhere like this."

Coach explained in a solid voice, earning the gaze of the reporter and con-man. The reporter gave a hesitant nod and sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Yeah…all this stress is kinda weighing down on me…"

"I'll take the first watch, okay, baby girl?"

"Fine by me."

She gave a wry smile and hid off to the side of the safe house, leaning back and running through things in her mind.

Nick, however, remained in his kneeling position over the dry blood and kept his eyebrows furrowed together. Something wasn't right. Something was no right. They had backtracked for a while and if Ellis had been following them, they would have run into him by now. They would have seen traces of his passing—dead zombies or empty shells…something!

And then it dawned on him. His entire body froze up at the realization and he turned to the other survivors with a grim face.

"The hillbilly's lost…"

"Lost? How do you know?"

Coach asked, Nick standing to his full height and sticking his hands in his pocket, clenching his hand around the mechanic's cap.

"We should have run into him by now. Haven't you wondered why we haven't seen him even though we backtracked all this way?"

"Jesus…there's goddamn orange arrows pointing the way to safe houses! How can he not follow them!"

"Well, when you're in pain and scared, do you pay attention to small details?"

Rochelle questioned, her eyes widened with the new information Nick had provided them. Her brain had begun working overtime as well and she felt fear clench onto her gut.

"That boy's a moron…he…we…" She curled up with her knees pulled against her chest.

"We've really done it now…he's out there hurt…oh god…what if he really dies…? What if he's already…"

"Rochelle, calm down, alright? We'll find him. There's gotta be clues somewhere…"

"Right, you're right…"

She sighed and held onto her arms, Nick sitting down across from where the supposed-dead body lay and stared at the spot for a while. He was smart, wasn't he? Swindled enough people out of their money? Fought off enough people? Been in more heists than anyone else he knew…he _knew_ the way people thought, so why was this kid so damn unpredictable?

"Right now, we need sleep. We'll move out in a while."

Nick stated, wanting nothing more than to go out searching for him right away. A sign or something. Anything. Anything!

"We'll find him, Nicholas. If that boy survived what happened to him, he'll survive a few days on his own."

"It's been nearly a week now, Coach. If anything, he's still on the move trying to find _us_."

Nick shot back, running his hand through his grimy hair and yanked out knots, trying to pull himself together. In one fluid movement, he flopped onto his side and closed his eyes, resting his head on the crook of his elbow. It was going to be a hell of a day when everyone was ready to move out.

* * *

Ellis's eyes snapped open at the sound of a familiar crying. His body had felt refreshed after the food, water, and rest he had given himself. Heck, even the pain pills were starting to give him more effect than he'd imagine. Just needed a bit of tender loving care. For sleep, he'd managed to fit himself into another tiny closet and catch his forty winks, but woke up with no clue of how long he had been out. And to make it worse, there was this _crying._

"Witch…"

His eyes narrowed as he held onto his auto shotgun close to him, watching the shadow beneath the door move to and fro, the crying getting louder and then softer.

_Shit…_

She was on the move.

He held his breath and silently prayed that she'd go away on her own.

Leave.

ANYTHING!

And then he heard it. The familiar barking.

"Aw, you Angel…thank you God, for hearing mah prayers…"

He looked up and released a sigh of relief. The crying stopped suddenly and grew into enraged growls. Ellis's eyes widened. Angel was in trouble. This was one thing she couldn't just bark away. He stood up with the help of the wall and heard the witch beginning to get irritated, her growls turning into screams. Without thinking, he threw open the door and came almost nose-to-nose with the witch. She hadn't been screaming at Angel, she had discovered that he was camped out in the closet.

One horrible shrill later and she had slashed at his chest and sent crippling pain coursing through him and the hick sailing to the ground, eyes widened in shock. As soon as she rose both hands in the air to bring her nine inch nails down upon him, Angel's teeth had sunk into her neck and wrung it in an unnatural manner, bringing her down to the ground. Ellis grasped onto his new wound and stared at the bright red blood in shock. This was not his week. He held up his auto shotty and released three shots into her fallen form before she could get up and did her in instantly.

"I…we did it…Aw, Angel…!"

He began helping himself up and laughing at the same time in triumph, managing to only get onto his hands and knees and laughing.

"Jesus Christ…"

He laughed again and looked up at the collie wagging her tail, her nose sniffing the blood on his chest. The red liquid sent her whimpering and her tail pulled in between her legs. Ellis gave a small laugh and brought her in towards him, kissing her muzzle.

"Aw jeez, didn't think I'd make it back there."

He kissed her muzzle once more and placed his hand against his new wound and winced, the pup licking his face and whining.

"Yup. I'm movin' now…ain't safe here no more."

He stood up and grunted, his eyes going cross-eyed before he fell to the ground and writhed in pain. He tried focusing his eyes but his head swirled once more, Angel resting her head over his back.

"Christ…Ange, I don't think I'm going nowhere…"

He forced a laugh and clutched onto his wound, his arm throbbing in pain and head aching once more.

"Guess I wasn't as good as I thought…hoo boy…"

He shut his eyes tightly and went to push himself up, staring ahead at the witch's corpse.

"Alright, girl, let's get you food and then get going."

He clutched onto the wall and propelled himself forwards, opening up the jerky once more and dumping it on the ground for Angel and fell into a chair, clutching onto his wound and leaning over his knees. With his other hand, he squeezed the bridge of his nose and tried to gather himself. He looked over at the table and picked up the dishcloth he had previously to pat his arm dry and pressed it against his chest.

"We need t'leave soon…"

Angel gobbled up the jerky and looked up at him with glassy eyes.

"Peanut butter too?"

_Thump thump. _

"Alrighty…hehehe…then we leave."

* * *

Nick barreled on ahead, running down an alleyway and turning down another direction, quickly losing the two survivors he was with. Breathing harshly, he turned his head every which way before deciding to throw open more doors and gun down commons in his way.

"Ellis! Hey, Overalls!"

His voice echoed down the alleyways that seemed emptier than normal. He quirked an eyebrow and ran into a clearing, his eyes falling upon a dead tank and a horde of zombies strewn across the ground. His breath hitched in his throat as he stepped over to it, the window to a gun shop broken. Upon further investigation, he noted the tiles had been dispersed in a way that he knew someone had to be under the crushing weight of the tank. Probably Ellis.

"ELLIS!"

He shouted on the top of his lungs, going through the entire shop. He came across a closet and saw pills spilled out on the ground and a few bloodied handprints on the wall. Once more, he knew. He knew it was Ellis. The blood wasn't fresh, but it wasn't yet the rusted red color of age.

"He's on the move…"

He spoke, whirling back and picking up a semi-used health kit.

"Goddamn it, kid…you're going the wrong way…"

He cursed and took off once more, not caring that Rochelle and Coach weren't in sight anymore. Ellis was so close he could almost hear his thick hick accent.

* * *

Ellis's breathing came in rasps and wheezes as he found himself up against another horde, Angel doing her best to keep him protected but realized he was quickly becoming overpowered. A smoker's tongue shot out and wrapped around his throat and chest, pulling him backwards.

"AH! HE'S GOT ME!"

Angel snapped around to his and snarled, lunging at the tongue and shutting her mouth around it. The smoker cried out in pain and retracted its tongue, giving Ellis enough leeway to give him one solid shot behind the head and watching him go up in smoke. He instantly began coughing on the air, his lungs and back crying out in pain and eyes watered.

He didn't have enough time to recover.

Claws and teeth came into contact with his skin, forcing him to punch them away from him to give him space to reload his gun and empty another ten rounds into the swarm, clearing them up. He breathed heavily and approached a bus bench, sitting down and holding onto his chest once more. He ate the final few pills and angrily threw the container to the side, eyebrows furrowing together. He was running low on shotgun ammo and had no medicine left. Anger welled inside him and he limped off towards a pharmacy, wiping the fresh blood that had spurted out of his nose and refused to stop.  
Angel whined as she limped up to Ellis, refusing to put her back leg on the ground.

"Hey, there, girl…what happened?"

He inspected her hip and winced back, taking note of a gash that had formed beneath her fur.

"Aw hell…I can't pick you up, I can't walk none too well myself…"

He furrowed his eyebrows as his face pulled back into a deep frown.

"This means we're limping partners, eh?"

She whined a bit and looked up with a sad face, licking his bloodied knuckles and asking for pets. He obliged and felt tears rise to his eyes.

"Seems like we might die here, huh girl? In the middle of nowhere in this godforsaken city…"

He laughed a bit and let out a few tears, wiping them away.

"Naw, we'll find the others. Here's hoping we'll find m'hat too."

He grinned and stood up to continue his trek to the pharmacy, the two limping one beside each other, unsure of how they were going to deal with the next threat.

* * *

**AN: Should be good for tonight. ^^ I'm happy I've written in advance so I can keep updating once in a while without worries. It's only final editing that really needs to be done, which I'm totally fine with. Please R & R!**


	7. White Knight

White Knight

Nick picked up a bandage and clenched it in his fist. Rochelle and Coach had caught up some time ago only for him to lose them once again. It was easy to get lost in the city, he had to give it to the mechanic. The orange signs stopped at one point in time and that's where he must have gotten lost. He had gone into the house with the only closed door and hoped that his hunch was right.

Open doors meant someone had gone through, closed door meant someone was inside.

Or was inside and escaped through the back door.

Augh, whatever! He had to take it as a sign that someone actually went through and not just some dead end. He had to find Ellis.

Either way, Ellis had to have gone through the house. His eyes fell upon the peanut butter, empty bag of jerky, and crackers and helped himself to the leftovers, leaving some behind for the other survivors if they were to pass by. His stomach had shrunk so much that it didn't need much for him to be satisfied now anyways. It was the thought that he was actually getting nutrients in his body that actually brought him about to eating the stale food.

Eventually, he went over to a closet, to try and satisfy a hunch, and quickly stumbled over something gruesome—the corpse of a dead witch. "Goddamnit, Overalls, what didn't you fight?"He grew angry when he saw fresh blood splattered on the ground a few times and then a cloth filled with wet blood. His heart stopped dead in his chest. He was hurt.

He was hurt and still trying to find them.

He didn't stop.

He was so…bullheaded!

"ELLIS!" Nick ran ahead once more, forgetting about Rochelle and Coach.

Forgetting the food.

Forgetting just about everything behind him. Right now, Ellis was within his reach and there was nothing, _nothing_, that was going to stop him. "Hang on, Ellis…I'm coming…"

* * *

Ellis awoke to Angel crying, her head rested on his legs. They had managed to haul themselves into a closet and catch some more sleep, Ellis's body screaming out in pain as the pills wore off.

The pharmacy had been ransacked.

"Least I knew people passed through here." He laughed painfully, scratching her head and leaning back against the wall in complete darkness, his eyes unfocused and head pounding harshly. He wished he had some pills or an adrenaline shot.

Something.

Anything to kill the pain. He traced his fingers over his scarred arm and then to his open gash on his chest and sighed. At the very least he wasn't bleeding out anymore.

"I don't want to move…don't know how long we've been here…" He chuckled a bit and felt Angel stand and paw at the door. Thinking she had to go, he opened it for her and watched as she trotted out into the dimly lit streets.

He took his sniper off his back and prepped to take out any zombies in sight that would get too near his Angel. He wasn't able to move without pain, but at least he would be able to aim and pull a trigger if need be.

Sleep weighed heavily on his eyes but exposed the way he was, he felt too vulnerable to sleep but his eyes felt as if they were sagging into his cheeks. He took off the guns from his back and laid them beside him to make it a little easier on his back that pained him. He closed the door and with his machete, stabbed a hole in the door big enough for the barrel of his sniper to stick out of and scope to see through. He couldn't risk keeping the door open. It wasn't safe for him.

* * *

Angel trot along the streets, her nose raised high in the air and sniffed for the familiar scent. She avoided any zombies on her path and travelled down an alley, her ears pricking up at the distant sounds of gunshots. Her black and white coat shimmered in the wind as she took off towards the rapid gunfire. Her body flickered off down another alleyway and down four blocks until she reached the sounds and the familiar scent. Panting, she stared at the horde of zombies attacking the man in a white suit and she knew the drill. She launched herself against the knees of a few of them too close to the man and watched them topple over, the con-man looking down at her with a look of surprise. "Hey…you're…"

She let out a bark and darted past him once more at the sound of a bull. Nick had moments to look behind him to see that she was snarling viciously at a charger readying itself to charge Nick. He spun his upper body towards it and brought his hunting rifle up, shooting it as quickly as he could. Once more, it released it's bull-like yell and rushed forwards, Angel chasing after it and clamping her mouth shut on it's useless arm. Nick side-stepped but managed to have its huge arm knock him backwards. He quickly regained his balance and finished the job, watching it sink to the ground and continued to take down the rest of the horde around him.

Angel panted heavily when the fiasco ended and limped over to the con-man, Nick's eyebrows furrowing together in sympathy.

"Don't like seeing you hurt…especially after you brought me the hick's cap…" Angel nudged his hand and licked it a few times before digging her nose into his pocket. He rose his hands up to get a better view at what she was doing and saw her yank out Ellis's cap.

Yes, that was the scent. There couldn't be two Ellis'. He had finally come to rescue the man she'd been trying to protect for a while.

She looked up at him with big, watery eyes and thumped her tail on the ground. "Hey, don't be taking that now." He tried taking it back from her and earned a growl and a firm bite back on the cap. She wasn't letting go. She took off in a flash a few feet ahead of him and stopped, looking back at him and waited. The con-man cocked his head to the side and realization dawned on him. Nothing would stop him now.

His legs pumped hard and breathing hitched in his throat as he tried keeping up with the collie, mentally preparing himself all the while. He had pain pills ready, two adrenaline shots, half a first aid kit, and water. The safe house was way off and Coach and Rochelle were probably going to wait there if they couldn't find Nick.

But at least Ellis wasn't alone. The dog must have been with him the entire time, and if she could help Nick the way she was, then she had obviously been taking care of Ellis too. An invaluable partner when alone. After all, dogs _were_ man's best friend.

He had to slow down. His lungs were crying out for more oxygen and he was tired after the last horde. But he couldn't stop now. He was so close. Within reach!

And then Angel turned into a pharmacy. Nick grinned. At least he tried finding help for himself. But that also meant he was hurt. He was definitely hurt. He came to a light jog and stepped over fallen glass as he entered the pharmacy. His eyes glanced over at the empty shelves and messed up aisles, following the dog that had begun her trek obviously over to where Ellis was. The dog stopped in front of a closet and pawed at the door, whining a bit. Nick's hand trembled a bit as he reached for the knob, turning it ever so slowly. The hole in the door would have proven useful to look through if it were bright enough, and maybe he could prepare himself for what was inside.

He gently pushed open the wooden door, staring inside the dark closet.

And there he was.

There.

Not dead.

There was the person he had been searching for all this time.

"Ellis!" He called out the boy's name and immediately fell to his knees, accessing the damage. He was breathing harshly and wasn't moving. His eyes were half-open but he knew that there was no way he was awake. He looked at the guns around him and felt his heart wrench. He had to defend himself one way but couldn't do it without worrying about running out of ammo. Of course, it was always a survivor's fear to run out of ammo, but alone must have been a nightmare.

"Hey…Overalls…" Nick tried in a softer voice now and grasped onto the hick's shoulder, rousing him from his sleep and earning groans of protest and pain. Angel whined and lay her belly close to the ground. With a few quick barks, the mechanic sprung up and made a grab for his grenade launcher and pointed it straight in Nick's face, eyes widened in horror and face contorted in obvious pain. "Take it easy, Fireball. It's just me."

"Nick?" Ellis dug the heels of his palms in both eyes and gave a few chortles. "Ah'm dreamin' a'gin…"

"Nope. Not this time, buddy. Nick's here, alive and in the flesh. Come on, let's get you out."

"Aw Nick…yer too nice…'ts a dream…jus' like th' last ones…" Nick took note of his prolonged drawl and knew that he was way past tired. With a frown, he fumbled for the adrenaline shot and stuck it in the mechanic's thigh. "OW! Man, what was that for!"

"You can't feel pain in a dream, hick. Let that kick in and we'll get you to safety." Ellis blinked a few times and felt the adrenaline wake him up. He blinked his eyes a few times and then bolted upright. "NICK! Shoot, I thought I was done for! Aw hell, it's been a looong time, brother!" He laughed and immediately regretted his decision, his hand flying to his chest. Nick's eyebrows furrowed together and he took hold of Ellis's arm and slung it around his neck, picking him up off the ground while grunting. Ellis hissed in pain and bit back the groans. "You're a mess. Come on, you need all those guns?"

"Hell yeah, man! I mean, not all of 'em, but…shoot, what'd you bring?"

"Got me a hunting rifle."  
"Shoot, better n' nothing, right? Want military snipe?"

"Nah, I like this one." He shifted his gun in one hand and smiled, looking down at Angel who was nudging Ellis's hand with her nose. "What's up with Lassie? She showed me where to find you, you know."

"Aw, shucks…real angel…Her name's Angel." Nick rolled his eyes at the name. Did he give that to every girl he saw?

"Saved my ass more times n' I kin count…n' yew brought me mah hat! Damn, you're a good girl!" He scooped it from her maw and placed it on his head, Nick giving him a small smile.

The kid had passed through hell and high water, faced death, and still knew how to make light of any situation.

* * *

Nick pressed on and eventually had to stop when Ellis held onto his wound and began to falter, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. "Ah don' feel righ'…" He slumped further towards the ground, Nick struggling to keep him positioned at his side and was practically holding the young man up. "Dammit, Overalls, you're heavy!"

"'m'sorry, Nick…'m tryin', 'm tryin'…" Nick reached for another adrenaline shot and stuck it in the hick's thigh once more and lowered him onto the ground. Ellis let out a grunt and Angel was at his side, nudging her nose into his chest and trying to lick his wound. "Ange…" He gave her a few pets and looked up at Nick, who was looking around for Rochelle and Coach. He needed help with the younger man, and he silently cursed himself for going for going so far ahead without them. He unscrewed the top of a bottle of pain pills and handed them to Ellis, who gratefully gobbled down three tablets.

Nick looked down once more at the hick and realized that he had been breathing hard, sweat gathered on his temples and glistened on his neck. He wasn't in good shape and he was still forcing himself to move. "Saw you took down a tank and witch. Good job, Fireball."

"Piece o' cake." He smiled back, his canines poking through his lips. Ellis heaved a heavy sigh as he tried to even his breathing and looked around once more.

"Hey, Nick…where's Coach and Ro?"

"They were lagging behind."

"An' now they're lost too, ah reckon…"

Damn, the kid's accent was really prominent. Almost painfully so. He winced back and looked around once more, taking out two random zombies. "We gotta get moving. There's a safe house about a day's walk from here and unless we don't keep moving, we'll still be in danger."

"Shucks, an' I though' we'd be zombie huntin' together…" He chuckled and winced once more, the pain elevating only slightly with the help of the shot, and the pills hadn't kicked in yet. Angel whimpered and lay down next to him, crawling so that she was right up against his leg. "Well, I get it now how you survived, wouldn't have made it without that dog, huh?"

"Nope. Saved me plenty o' times…" He replied with a grin. He ran his fingers through her fur and felt the tightness in his chest release but fatigue grip him. "Ain't that righ' girl?" He massaged her head once more with his fingers and felt Nick pick up his arm once more. It was time to leave again.

He hoisted himself up and shook his arm off Nick, standing on his own feet. "I kin do it m'self."

"You can't even talk right. We're not stopping until we reach a safe house, so you better not slow me down."

"Never stopped yew before." He drawled, Nick feeling a stab of guilt.

He was right. Even when they thought he was dead, they had to push forwards. They should have stayed. And he was guilty for that.

"Shut up, you inbred hick." Nick watched Ellis unsling his gun from his back and grasp it firmly. "Let's go. Angel, mind showin' us th' way?" The dog barked happily and took off ahead of them, going to find the safe house they needed. The mechanic let out a smile and a chuckle and began after her, Nick staying as close to him as possible, ready to catch the mechanic if anything happened.

* * *

Angel whipped around the corner to find the two men and came to a stop, locking her legs. She had memorized the way and was ready to lead the way but realized the two men had come to a halt. Ellis was drenched in sweat and his breathing labored. He was too fatigued to go on. Angel brought her muzzle close to his face and sniffed him a bit, laying down and placing her head on his knee.

"Think she found th' way?"

"Yeah, she just realizes that you can't walk anymore."  
"Got that right. Ah'm tired." He grinned from ear to ear and earned a scowl from the older man. "Come on, if she found the way, we gotta get going." Ellis went to stand and staggered back a bit, Nick holding onto his shoulder. "I think it's better if we rest up for a while."

"Aw, Nick, you worried?"

"Idiot, if you're too hurt to move, how are you supposed to protect yourself? There's no use trying to do something if you can't even half-ass it." Nick earned a grin from the mechanic and the mechanic earned a sigh from Nick. "Let's go over to that house there for a while." As soon as they began to move, Angel stopped and perked up. Her ears twitched backwards and she began growling, looking up at the air. Nick stopped and followed her actions. He squinted and darted his eyes from side to side, trying to see what the dog could see but did so in vain.

Ellis's ears pricked and he widened his eyes. "Hey, ah hear one o' 'em whirly-birds! Look out fer it!"  
Angel kept barking at it and then began running away, Nick's eyes darting over to her. "Overalls, I don't think we should be welcoming that helicopter…we have to move…"

"What th' hell, Nick? There's rescue righ' there!"

"Yeah, well, when that dog runs away from something, and I've had her take down hordes without backing down. She's running away from that, it's a definite threat."

"Nick, c'mon, man, there's no-" A canister dropped out of the helicopter and as soon as it hit the ground, spun around in a circle and dispensed out a thick smoke screen. Nick tried running away from it but realized that Ellis was having problems just breathing through the smoke and had consequentially fallen to his knees, gasping for air.

Everything happened in slow motion in the eyes of the conman. He had begun his mad rush towards the mechanic as the fumes settled in a noxious cloud of fear and pollution. His eyes moved to his left as his peripheral caught sight of an oncoming force and took note of Angel. She had come back and swiftly made her way to Ellis and frantically began barking at him almost viciously. She had tried to yank at his pants but he had promptly collapsed onto his side, Nick wanting more than ever to run.

But he couldn't lose him again. He couldn't be blamed for anything bad that would happen to the hillbilly.

"ELLIS!" He tried calling through the fog, the plumes enveloping him completely one moment and then just as quickly dispersing as the helicopter neared the ground.

* * *

**AN: DUN DUN DUN! I love this chapter. The upcoming chapters might be a bit dull though…I'm trying to get myself out of THAT rut and make it better before I post the new chappie. R &R! I love you guys! Your reviews really make my day~! Not even kidding ouo**


	8. What Governs the World

What Governs the World

Nick's heart stopped as he saw CEDA personnel dressed in hazmat suits looming over Ellis and gently placing him upon a stretcher. A wire looped about Angel's neck and a muzzle firmly placed around her mouth. They passed a scanner over her neck and took a few notes down.

Nick took a few steps back, fear chilling his blood as he watched two more men in hazmat suits approaching him with a gun each.

"Let go of him!"

His attempt to free Ellis was feeble and in vain, the conman knew, but what else was he supposed to do? He assessed the situation and figured out that he would definitely have gotten overpowered and even if he used a gun, he wouldn't have been able to take down four men with a hunting rifle. His pistol, maybe, but the rifle would be too noticeable. They would see him move and he'd be dead on the spot.

"Dispatch delta, we have confirmation of specimen 1147512. Do you copy? Over."

"Are you equipped for specimen transfer? Do you have the other specimens? Over."

"Aerial specimens 3413 through 7512 have all been destroyed. Septic specimens 100000 through 114000 have yet to be captured. Over."

"And the other specimens? Over."

"Land rovers 1145000 through 1160000 have been captured and destroyed if shown signs of mutation. 1147512 had shown signs of immunization. We will proceed DNA extraction at the evac center B110-223. Over."

"Send results when you have completed. Over."

"We also have captured two potential carriers. Two males, 20-40 years of age. Younger one is severely injured. What do you want us to do? Over."

Nick licked his lips as he grasped tightly onto his gun, lifting it up slowly until one man in a hazmat pointed his own gun at the conman, earning a feral growl from the dog. Ellis was strapped into the stretcher and Nick knew exactly what was going to happen.

"Same as always. Over and out." Nick was too focused on the gun the one man held up that he was oblivious to the taser the other one had in his possession and proceeded to take down the armed conman.

* * *

The conman groaned as he slowly came to in enough time to feel the prick of a needle under his arm. He jerked backwards and earned a scoff from an unknown source.

"Overalls!"

He bolted up and felt a wave of nausea hit him.

"Settle down.. He's in the recovery room."

Nick looked up into the face of a bald older man sporting a well-kept and graying beard. He was wearing a hazmat suit with the cowl hanging loosely from his shoulders and had a medical mask pulled over his nose and mouth. Despite his age, Nick knew that if he would try to break free, the man would be more than enough to keep his hands full.

"He's not in good condition, you know. I yelled at CEDA for using such brash methods to bring you in. They think that everyone's running around in a panic and the only way to bring them in is to hurt them. What happened to please and thank you? It's like the world went into a state of panic and forgot their manners."

Nick let out a few dry laughs and ran his hand through his hair. The man was old enough, alright, to be talking about manners and being kind during a zombie apocalypse.

"How's he looking?"

"Who, your friend? Not too terribly well. Hurt, what else do you think? I took care of him myself but he needs time to heal, just like anything. You've been out quite a while too. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you've had it pretty rough."

"Heh, you're telling me…"

He looked down at the IV in his arm and frowned.

"I was travelling with two other people. Have you…"

"Yeah, yeah, but they were transported to another compound. They transported the two of you here because your friend was wounded and I wasn't too sure about splitting you up. Name's Jack, by the way. What's yours?"  
"Nick. Name's Nick. Thanks for your help. To be honest, I don't know what I was going to do with the hick."

"I get it, there's not much someone without medical training can do. Anyways, you're free to visit. I've given orders to let you go back and forth between rooms. Don't think a man such as yourself would want to be confined."

Nick rose an eyebrow and saw him shrugging with a smile.

"A man such as myself…?"

"Money. You obviously have money sitting in a bank somewhere if you're out there fighting zombies in a _suit._ Who else does that unless someone dressing up for their own funeral!"

Jack laughed heartily and slapped his knee, Nick laughing alongside with him.

"You could probably fix me up with something real nice when this is all over with! You'd do that for me, wouldn't you? Like I've done this for you?"

"Oh yeah, sure. Nice cottage by the ocean. More booze in your liquor cabinet than you could count. Girls. What more would you want?"

Jack licked his lips at the thought and earned a grin from Nick, who now knew had the upper hand in the compound. Whoever could control a doctor in times like these basically was able to govern people.

Medicine is what made the world go round, after all.

"Sounds nice….sounds real nice…what do your bank figures look like?"

Nick gave a shrug and kept on his smug grin, holding both arms up beside him. "We're talking more zeroes than I can count. But hey, if you need a hand when all of this is over, I'd be more than glad to. All you have to do is make sure that the four of us are safe and hey, you can have all something like six figures. How's that sound?"

Jack, being an old man with probably not much left for him other than living out his life after the apocalypse, was more than thrilled to be able to run away with enough money than he could possibly use.

"Sure thing, not a problem. Now, I have a report to go write up. If you'll excuse me…"

"Be my guest. Oh, there was one other thing. That dog we were with…what happened to her?"

"Oh, 114725 was a specimen that took well to the mutated strain of the flu. We're extracting data from her."

"Would it be possible to have her roam around too? You see, I don't think my friend would be too happy with her gone…she's been by his side for a while since we got separated."

"I can't do that…she probably carries a sort of cure—a vaccine can be extracted from her blood. If she…"

"Doc, listen, I can throw in another figure if the hillbilly gets to keep the dog, sound fair?"

His eyes lit up and he nodded.

"After we extract samples."

"Sounds fair to me."

He replied, grinning like the devil. If the doc found out that Nick's figures weren't as impressive as he made them out to be, there'd be trouble for not only him, but for Ellis too. He had to keep up the ruse for him.

"Now, if you'll excuse me."

He saluted him off with two fingers to the forehead and took off to do his own thing. As soon as he left through the door, Nick ripped the IV out of his arm and panic set in. Where was Ellis? He was allowed to leave, so now he had to find the mechanic if it killed him. He tore open the door and saw that the doctor had disappeared, so he was free to roam wherever he wanted.

He looked down the hallway and tried a few doors, finding them to be locked. The conman gave a chuckle and ran his hand through his hair as he looked down the hallway once more to see two large steel doors painted a beige color.

"Free to roam, eh? Nowhere but this door I'm assuming…"

He approached the door and pushed it open, blinded by florescent lights that shone in his face. After a few more steps, he turned his head to the left and saw the boy he was looking for. Laying there in complete stillness, his entire torso exposed except for the bandages that tightly encircled him. He had been hooked up to a blood bag and an IV dripping nutrients into him. Like it or not, he knew, the hick was in bad shape and how he survived on his own in the state he was in was beyond him. Except, of course, he had the help of his Angel.

Nick let out a chuckle again and ran his hand through his gritty hair for the third time that day.

"Think we can make it out this time?"

He asked the hick, earning no reply. He let out a sigh and took hold of a chair to sit next to the mechanic, watching him closely to ensure that he was alright.

* * *

"You dumbass. You realize that you're dreaming again?"

Nick was running beside Ellis through the infested streets of Louisiana on their way to a safe house. Nick was carrying the same hunting rifle he had been carrying when he first found the mechanic, Angel had run ahead and was barking at a few zombies. Ellis looked down at his automatic shotgun and readied himself to attack. He was safe. Unhurt. With his two best buds except…

"Where's Coach and Ro?"

"I just told you that you're dreaming. Want proof? There's now ten tanks chasing us."

Ellis furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and worry and tensed up when he heard the familiar roar that chilled him to the very core.

"Christ in a hand basket…"

He turned around and saw the ten tanks tanks that Nick had 'manifested' there. He stopped to start shooting his gun and realized that he had dreamed away his Molotov. Angel hadn't moved from her spot and seemed completely unaware of the tanks up ahead. Nick simply stood beside the hick and lowered his gun.

"Come on, man, shoot it!"

"Why? You can dream them away. Just like how you're dreaming me away now."

"This ain't funny, man! This ain't funny!"

Panic gripped the mechanic as Nick began disappearing, leaving him utterly alone to deal with the tanks.

"Please, God, no…"

A tank burst ahead at top speed and lunged it's arms out towards Ellis, his knees trembling and face paling.

Ellis jolted upwards and held onto his chest, yelping in pain and falling off the bed. A familiar laugh lassoed him back down to earth and he quickly searched for the source.

"You're a mess."

"Yeah, well…"

He grunted and pushed himself up, blinking his eyes a few times to gather his bearings and felt two hands helping him up.

"It seems like we're doing this too often…"

"This? Endin' up in…where in th' hell are we anyhow?"

"Helping each other up every time we go down. And we're in a CEDA compound. We're being taken care of here. Coach and Ro are at another compound, are we're going to get them here."

"How are we going to do that?"

"Money."

Nick grinned like the devil and earned an equally devious grin from Ellis.

"No way man, you mean you're _loaded?_"

"Ellis, Ellis, Ellis…when will you learn that I'm a gambling man and that everyone loves money? We're lucky I met the greedy doctor. He has a certain…affinity to money, let's say."

He helped Ellis sit on the bed and looked around the room. White washed walls and a beige door. No cameras.

"Well, I suppose he really did give us freedom…"

"What d'you mean?"

The door burst open and Angel bolted inside, tongue hanging out of her mouth and a smile plastered on her face. She instantly leapt up onto the bed with Ellis, nearly knocking him over, and began to sniff his wounds and lick his face. The mechanic couldn't help but laugh as he tried pushing her away and scratching at her fur at the same time.

"Settle down, now, daddy's alright."

Nick snorted and burst out in laughter. Angel suddenly turned her attention to him and jumped into his arms. He let out a cry of surprise and was forced to catch her, falling over immediately. Her tail spun in circles as she let out cries of happiness and licked his face.

"Pfft stop—stop-pfft ack no—stop! Ellis!"

"Aw Nick, someone actually likes you!"

"Dogs don't count!"

Ellis let out a laugh and let out a sharp whistle, Angel stiffening up like a board and heeled to his side. He rose and eyebrow in confusion. He had been accustomed to whistling for Keith's dog and it became a habit after that, however it never usually worked on other people's dogs.

"When d'you learn to do _that_?"

"She's their lab dog, they probably trained her. Say something else."

Nick egged on the mechanic. Ellis licked his lips a bit and stared at the dog for a moment.

"Lay down."

The dog listened and stared up at him with watery eyes.

"Roll over."

She didn't comply this time.

"Something they didn't teach ya, alright, um…"

"Well, we know she can find people." Nick concluded, Ellis rolling his eyes.

"Well duh, she found you."

"Me? She found you in the first place."

Ellis grinned and scratched at her head once more before looking up at Nick and seeming confused.

"I don' like this place, brother. They gassed us an' now they want yer money…I dunno 'bout you, but I want to git outta here…wherever here is…"

"I know. Once we get Coach and Ro we're headed out."

"Don' care where, so long as we git our families…"

"Your drawl is drawling."

"'m jus' gettin' tired…"

He yawned, Angel beginning to bark. Nick began yawning as well and slouched in his chair.

"Now that you mention it…"

* * *

Ellis tumbled to his side, Nick's mind growing hazy and he was soon following the mechanic in his ungraceful descent.

Nick awoke in a bed next to Ellis. He was cursed loudly and sat up, seeing the hick's face had turned a pale color. He went to wake him up but saw that his bandages around his torso hadn't been put back on, so his wounds and scars were on display for everyone to see. A pang of guilt rang through him. He had left him alone for so long. Let him get attacked. Let him nearly _die._ And this kid didn't bear a grudge against him. He was too forgiving. Too…nice.

That's it. Too nice.

For all the talking he did and all the guns he shot off and zombies he killed, he was too _nice_ underneath it all. He wanted to make it right.

"Hey, hey, Overalls."

He shook the hick's shoulder and furrowed his eyebrows when he didn't move. His skin was icy cold and almost a blue hue. Panic set in him and he quickly went to feel for a pulse, grabbing hold of his wrist and not getting too far before the mechanic groaned and opened his eyes, shivering.

"The hell, man…it's cold!"

Nick retracted his hand quickly and pressed it at his side.

"Yeah, something happened. I think it's got to do with these guys, like why we fainted."

"Aw, man, I knew this place weren't no good…"

Ellis cursed, sitting up and groaning as he did so, his hand flying to his chest wound. "Damn, this shit hurts…"

"That's what happens when you go off on your own." Nick replied, shrugging his shoulders but still keeping an eye on him. The younger man stared around the room and motioned to a corner with his head. "Look over there."

"What?"

Nick peered over to where Ellis was looking at and saw one misplaced brick at the lower corner of the room. It seemed almost normal for a brick to be missing in the middle of an apocalyptic world, but in the compound that was almost _too_ clean was an anomaly.

"Think they gassed us again?"

"I _know_ they gassed us. Why they did is what I wanna know." Ellis nodded and looked around for his animal companion, finding her gone.

"Angel's missing…"

"Doesn't surprise me."

Nick swung his legs out with intent to investigate the hole in the wall but the beige door swung open and in burst Angel and the doctor.

"We came in and found you both unconscious. Are you alright now?"

"Cut the bullshit, what did you guys do?"

Nick spat, glad that he now had someone to be furious with. He approached the Jack with hunched shoulders and pointed a finger at him. "I promised you money to keep us safe. Now, if you allow people to come in here and gas us-"

"Gas you? Why in the world would we?"

"You guys said that you wanted to treat us like the other experiments. If this is how you do it, fine. We're not taking part. We're leaving."

"Oh, no, no, no, Nick, you don't understand! Once you're in here, you can't get out! Now it's true, we did do something, but it wasn't gassing. We let a rat in the room."

Jack almost waited for Nick to say something. Anything to satisfy his sadistic want for them to be disgusted.

"A rat?"

"Well, yes…! And frankly I expected a more surprised reaction!"

"Jack, we've been crawling through a swamp, the sewers, through zombie sludge and goo and guts and one rat is now not enough to even give me the willies!"

Ellis laughed in the background as he allowed Angel up on the bed with him, his arm slung around her.

"An' he did it all in a three thousand dollar suit."

The mechanic added, earning a smug grin from the conman. Jack frowned and shook his head.

"The rat, boys, carried the virus. With your constant exposure to 114745's gene, she has been curing you from the virus. And the effects of re-exposure to the virus after a week of incubation led to your body rejecting it."

"So wait, you used us as _experiments?_ Do you get that Nick?"

"Yeah, I got it. Guinea pigs for the cure without consent."

"But it's working, don't you see? 114745 is our cure! You two are our cure! You are immune and the dog is the vaccine! If we can keep you here for a while longer and infuse your DNA somehow, we can create a natural cure and save the world! Become rich!"

Ellis's eyes narrowed now. Not because of the money, but because of his immunity.

"Say, doc…ain't it funny that we're carriers and you ain't wearin' a mask?"

"Well…that…"

"Don't that mean _you're_ immune too? Why ain't you got the same effects?"

Ellis wasn't as dumb as people thought. He was capable of linear thinking when he wasn't shooting things or acting like an idiot. And this highly impressed the conman, for one.

"Well…I'm not exposing myself."

"An' I s'pose it's alright t'do that to us, eh?"

Ellis grinned as Angel licked his hand and soon Nick was beside the mechanic. He had to make him shut up otherwise they weren't going to get Coach and Rochelle.

"I dunno, seems like we're being used, Nick. I don't like it. He's not putting himself on the line."

"You idiot, why would I if _I'm_ the one developing the serum! Nick, he better not be included in our little deal!"

"'Fraid so, doc. He and Coach and Ro in the other compound. That was our deal. Remember how much I'm paying you? Without me, you don't know my bank numbers. You need me as much as I need you, and our two-way deal works like that."

Nick licked his chapped lips and watched Jack squirm a bit before turning on his heel and storming out, hands dug deeply in his pockets. Nick turned to Ellis with fiery eyes and stormed up to him.

"Next time you try being smart and I'll leave your ass here. One rule here, hillbilly, and that's to leave the logistics to me. You almost got yourself a one way ticket to being left out of a deal."

"Well it ain't my fault he's being a son of a bitch who's using us as lab rats. He won't even use himself, Nick. He ain't no doctor, he's a son of a bitch!"

"Yes, Ellis, I know. But unless you want to stay behind, keep your head low and let me handle it. Jack's a money sniffer and he knows you don't have money. Believe me, Ellis, I thought about that too. If you're thinking of something, I'm probably already thinking about it too."

The mechanic pursed his lips and scowled, reaching up to tug his hat but found it gone.

"The hell…? My hat! Angel, did you take it?"

Angel's head cocked to the side in question and her tail thumped the bed twice. Ellis sighed through his nose and grinned.

"Thought not."

"Give me a minute, alright, Fireball? I'm going to talk over things with doc and see if we can get transported to the others."

"Yeah, whatever."

Ellis watched Nick take his leave and looked down at Angel once again.

"Ready, limping buddy?"

She whined a bit and watched Ellis get up off the bed and groan as his stitches began pulling, his head whirling around and he stumbling forwards a bit, Angel jumping down and standing right in front of him. He pressed his hand onto her back to keep him from faceplanting into the ground and earned another whine from her.

"I'm alright. Jus' not used to walking again."

She thumped her tail a bit and earned a hug from the hick. He recomposed himself as much as he could and approached the hole in the wall, laying close to the ground so that he was level with it and peered inside. It was dark but he could vaguely make out a glint of something reflecting the pale lights. As a mechanic, he was used to sticking his hands into vehicles in places where he couldn't see too well, and even one time got a surprise when he pulled out a dead possum, but this wasn't as gnarly. Instead, when he stuck his hands in the hole, he tugged on something that felt like a tube. He pulled on it a bit and gave it a good yank, tearing it out from wherever it was tied on to. His face screwed up in confusion as he looked over at Angel and saw her backing away from it.

"Don't like it neither, do you, huh?"

He sniffed it and wretched back, smelling a familiar odor.

"Boomer puke?"

"You there, what are you doing?"

"Angel, time to run, girl!"

Ellis began his sprint but quickly faceplanted and wrenched on the ground in pain. The guard approached him and to his surprise, gingerly picked him up from the armpit.

"Hey, El, didn't think I'd see _you_ here."

Stars danced in his vision as he tried focusing in front of him to no avail. Angel ran up to the guard and began licking his knuckles.

"Hey, girl, you been keepin' an eye on her, huh?"

Something clicked in Ellis's head. The guard called him by his name? Well now, he was either really polite and thoughtful as a guard, or the familiar hick-like voice had to be _the one and only._

"Aw hell, Keith…the hell are you doin' here!"

* * *

**AN: Longer update time due to finals. Last one tomorrow, this is my good luck chapter! Thanks for reading, everyone! I very much appreciate it! **


	9. Inside Information: Safer Side

Inside Information: Safer Side

"Remember that time people thought I was a priest at a wedding? Come on, let's get you on yer feet."

"Keith, that was a wedding! Not some… CEDA shit!"

Ellis exclaimed, grunting as Keith slung his arm around his neck and in one motion, stood tall. Ellis let out a yelp and threw him a dirty look.

"Hey now, that hurt."

"For once it's you an' not me."

Keith grinned back at him and helped him sit back down on the bed.

Ellis examined his best friend from head to toe. His goatee had been shaven off but wasn't taking much time to grow back in and his hair was tied in a wiry half-assed ponytail at the base of his neck. He wore CEDA armor that resembled military armor (except for the fact that the word C.E.D.A. was clearly printed on the back in huge, white, bold lettering). A standard military rifle and sniper positioned on his back and Ellis couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. The boy could barely keep himself alive without the help of a gun, and yet there he was—standing tall and proud with one pressing into his back. The only thing missing was the standard mask to protect him from the virus but Ellis could have guessed that he was an immune as well.

"It's good to see ya, brother."

Keith squeezed Ellis's shoulder, he returning the smile and flinging his arms around Keith.

"Man oh man it's good to see you. Have I got stories to tell you! But first I need to know how _you_ of all people ended up here! What happened to ma? I thought you were taking care of her!"  
"I am. This is how, bro. I was with her for a while, an she was sobbin' an' cryin' for you an' she wouldn't forgive me fer bein' there an' not you. So I said, "Ma, I'm gonna find that crazy son a' yours an' I'll bring him back to you." So I stole a CEDA uniform and they haven't questioned me since. Seems like even CEDA got too much to worry about if they let someone like me join 'em."

"Christ, Keith…"

Ellis ran his hand through his hair and furrowed his eyebrows. At the very least he had inside intel now. That was the most important thing of all.

"How's ma…?"

"Ma? Shoot, she's an immune, believe it or not. She's got kids t'take care of. More n' she can count. She's real happy, yanno. It's like they've got a village full of immunes and non-infected out in New Orleans. Man, it was great. But hell, Ellis, y'shoulda gotten on the whirly bird when you had the chance. Ma's furious."

Keith had been over so often and they were almost like brothers and Ellis's ma insisted on having Keith call him ma. She adopted that status with Keith within the same afternoon. Ellis was a little bit jealous at first, but after a beating from his pa and a scolding from his ma, he was quick to allow his best friend to keep calling his mom ma.

Keith never had a mom. She had died a few months after Keith was born and his father abandoned him for it. So his uncle took him in and he never seemed to be quite right after that. Always sought approval. Keith was the brother Ellis never had, but their close relationship never quite came to fully form until later on.

"Think she'll forgive me?"

"Nah, bro. Not this time. She's as mad as a possum stuck in a wall."

Ellis winced at his words and frowned.

"Anyhow, I gotta get goin' elsewise they'll get suspicious of us. An' between you an' me, they don't like guards getting friendly with people. I got loads t'tell you, but not now. It ain't safe t'talk here."

"Got it. Man, Keith…It's awesome to see you…"

"You too, brother. Shit's crazy, Ellis…keep yer head down nice an' quiet like until time t'eat."

Ellis gave a nod and shoved the older man. He wasn't used to having Keith acting…mature. At least he was going to get proper answers now. There was someone he could trust.

"Now stay put!"

Keith issued an order, eyes flickering to the corner of the room before exiting the area and leaving Ellis with more questions than before and an intense feeling of frustration.

* * *

Nick caught up with Ellis as they ate in the crowded cafeteria with other CEDA personnel. They were given the freedom to eat with them but were kept out of their reach. Jack had requested to eat with them so that he would be in better suited company (Nick).

"So tell me about how you acquired so much money."

Nick stabbed into his steak and analyzed it with an appraising look.

"Money? Gambling, my good friend. A well placed bet here and there and soon enough you find yourself beoming the owner of a shiny new car, home, and hell, even a few companies."

Nick bit into the steak and chewed as if in deep thought. He didn't want Jack to think that this was the best meal he had in what seemed to be forever and a year. Ellis remained quiet, holding onto his wound with one hand and ate with the other. He had been reminded by Nick to remain quiet out of the corner of his mouth as he walked in with Ellis. They still haven't had their little chat together about what he had spoken to the man about but whatever it was, he seemed obviously disturbed by it.

"Well, I am glad to be in your company then. You know, money will be probably inflated after all this, with people suddenly acquiring mass fortunes thanks to insurance. With your money, I'll be able to get what I need and be done with people entirely. Goodness knows I'm sick of healing the weak and stupid."

He rolled his eyes, Ellis quickly clenching onto his wounds and knowing that he'd have to heal up and fast. There was no mercy with this man and if he was running the whole compound, the other personnel wouldn't be afraid to gun him down if he was weak. And he was then and there. Unable to move too well on his own without help or lots of time to get to where he needed.

A familiar face approached the table carrying a tray of food. Ellis's heart jumped into his mouth as he saw him not make any eye contact at all. As if they were never friends.

Just maybe Keith knew how some things worked…they were nearly brothers, after all. If they couldn't read each others' minds by now, there'd be a problem.

"Howdy there, Jackie boy! How's it hangin'? Jus' wanted t'meet the new meat here! Name's Keith!"

He slid his tray next to Jack and rounded over to the two survivors, grasping the backs of their necks in a friendly manner.

"Tops to ya, boys! Shit, I can't believe that you managed to survive out there without no CEDA help!"

Nick seemed to be irritated beyond belief. It was on top of whatever Jack spoke to him about and now this Keith fellow strangely resembled that character that Ellis always spoke of. He even had the same accent.

"Goddammit, if you're that same Keith this bastard always talks about…"  
"Naw, Nick, the Keith I knew had way more missing fingers. And burned…and shit…he was missin' a few teeth too."

Ellis gave a laugh as Keith squeezed the back of his neck almost painfully so.

"Name's Ellis, that there is Nick."

"Well howdy."

He removed his hands and looked up at Jack, seeing his face turning red. He must have had a question burning on his tongue and the men gave him no time to ask his question.

"Now Keith, since you've so humbly volunteered yourself to be their,erm…personal guards…I expect you to show them the ropes."

"Th' ropes? Now, Jackie, I was s'posed to-"

"Keith…"

"Naw, doc, I ain't babysittin' no carriers! I dun-"

"I give the orders here." Jack leaned forwards, as if warning Keith with a glare.

"I expect you to follow them. Now, Nick, is there anything else I can do for you?"

Ellis snorted and watched Keith take his seat beside Jack, seemingly upset but the mechanic knew that his friend was officially the happiest man in the compound. They would have exchanged bro-fist pounds if Jack wasn't looking, but unfortunately, he was _right there._

"Yeah, get us to that other compound with our friends. Like you said you would."

There was a pause and Jack seemed obviously upset now. Nick rose his eyebrows and set his fork down. He knew what was coming next. It was almost a sixth sense of his to know exactly when the shit was going to hit the fan.

"Now, Nick, don't be mad…I called up the other compound where your friends were being held…" Nick could feel himself beginning to grin angrily. He knew it.

He _fucking knew it._

He leaned towards Jack and felt anger rising off Ellis. He knew it too.

"'Now Nick, don't be mad…'" He repeated after Jack, seeing his face blanche a bit.

"Do you realize the mistake you just made?"

Rhetorical question.

He drummed his fingers on the table.

"N-Nick…"

"You just told me that our little deal was one sided. You just told me that we were not going to see our friends. That's not the first time you disappointed me today, _Jackie_."

He imitated Keith's name for the doctor. Ellis rose an eyebrow. Not the first time _today?_ Just what the hell happened between them?

"Nick…buddy…it's just a minor setback…"

"A minor setback is telling me you're missing gas for our ride. A minor setback even, is waiting for Ellis to heal up for a few more days. This? This is telling me we can't see our friends. That was the whole point of our little bargain."

Jack licked his lips and held a hand out to Nick in trying to reason with him.

"Listen, we need you here a bit longer because we need the dog-"

"And our friends can't come here, champ? Too hard?"

"N-no, Nick, juh…just give me more time."

A sinister grin grew on Nick's face as he leaned forwards once more.

"You also just told me right now that you're used to saying that to somebody…just give me more time…if my hunch is correct, you've made a lot of bad deals in the past."

"N-no, not true-"

"Don't dance with the devil, Jack. I know a sucker when I see one. All you gotta do is reunite four people together and a dog. Does that sound hard to you?"

"No…no, I suppose not…"

"Then don't sweat it. I'm your friend here."

Nick leaned back and grinned, lacing both arms behind his head and shrugging a bit with both eyes closed.

"It's not like _you_ owe me money, Jack-a-roo. Just some reuniting."

The slightly overweight man sweated a bit as he rubbed his palms together, trying to weedle his way out of a tight situation.

"Right…right…"

He cleared his throat and abandoned his tray of food and stood up tall.

"Keep an eye on these fellows. I'm…going to try making a few calls."

"Aye, aye."

Keith saluted with two fingers and watched the man take his leave, almost running for the nearest exit. As soon as he was out of sight, Keith let out a loud sigh, Ellis doing the same and pulling his hat back on his head, laughing a bit.

"Jesus, it's like you're used to this or something, eh, Nick?"

Ellis pat Nick on the back and gave a relieved laugh. Nick, on the other hand, ran both his hands through his hair and sigh.

"You did good, Fireball. For once, you listened to me and kept your mouth shut with your bird-brained friend there."

"Yeah, well, I figured you n' Keith got a plan."

He gave them a small grin and realized that Nick wasn't fooled with Ellis's lie about Keith.

"So, this is the famous Keith, huh?"

"Yup, that's me."

Keith grinned from ear to ear and plopped in his seat in front of them.

"I guess Ellis made a new friend."

"A couple actually, Keith. Say, what are you doing here now that there ain't people around?"

Keith shrugged and grinned.

"Ma sent me, I told you."

"Naw, Keith, you said there were too many people…"

Keith shifted his eyes and shook his head.

"Dunno what you mean. Anyhow, eat up right quick. There's this real cool place in here that not many people know about, an' there's this really cool thing that I _gotta_ show you."

Keith grinned from ear to ear and rose up both eyebrows, earning a nod from the other two men. They knew that the room wasn't safe. Why? Only Keith knew, and he wasn't about to spill where _everyone_ could hear. He began scarfing down the food in front of him almost ravishly. Ellis was used to seeing Keith eat like a monster, but this was _different._

"Where have you guys been?"

Keith asked in between mouthfuls of mashed potatoes. Ellis threw a grin over at Nick and saw him scratch the back of his head.

"Savannah trying to get to New Orleans like everyone else…we figured no helicopters would be coming back."

"An' you were right."

"This kid almost got himself killed…"

"I did not! You thought I was done for an' you left me!"

Ellis defended himself with a grin creeping up on his face.

"An' I sure as hell don't think I'd meet my Angel if you didn't do that. Where is she anyhow?"

"That's what I spoke to the doc about."

Nick winced a bit, guilt brewing in his gut. He swallowed hard and tried to rid of the ice in his stomach.

"They were throwing numbers out of the blue when you were out cold."

Keith snorted mashed potatoes out of his nose and instantly began trying to clear his airways out so he could laugh properly.

"Ellis was unconscious!"

More laughing. Ellis hunched over and grasped onto his wound with one hand and pulled the bill of his cap over his eyes with the other.

"It ain't funny…"

"Aw hell, your lucky streak is running a little low, ain't it! This kid, believe it or not, ain't never got no scratch on him even during our games! Ain't that the shit?"

"That's a lie! I broke my arm once!"

"And ma spanked me real good."

Ellis grumbled, earning a crook of Nick's eyebrow. Why was _not_getting injured such a shameful thing? He tucked the piece of information away in some recess in his mind and continued.

"Anyways, you lame brains, there were numbers going into the millions. I found out what they were…"

"Experiments…that's our job here at this compound…retrieve lost specimens, or experiments, n' exterminate 'em like varmin. Any carriers are under examination too."

Keith whispered, pulling up his sleeve to show hundreds of needle marks and slash scars.

"There's nothin' you kin do about it neither…they did this t'me 'till they knew I weren't gonna make another round of turnin' into a carrier again."

The two looked up at Keith, horror etched in on their faces. The true face of _this _compound?

"Keith…aw hell…"

"Now keep eatin'! I gotsa show you 'round like the doc ordered me tuh."

Keith spoke really loudly so the guards passing by would hear him. He continued to shovel food in his mouth afterwards and watched them squeeze the trigger of their assault rifle slightly as it was poised upwards from under their arms. They passed and Ellis was now laughing, clutching his injuries as he did so.

"Guess ma was right, the military did really straighten you up!"

"Shut up, El." Keith's eyebrows drew over his eyes as he flung his peas at his friend.

"What about other compounds? What are their functions?"

"Naw, I can't tell you here."

Keith knew that he was becoming more and more comprimised. He couldn't afford that, not that he was on the other side of where Ellis and Nick stood—the safer side.

* * *

**AN: Do you guys know what farmer days are? Yeah, I'm a farmer of sorts, 'cept we farm plants (lilacs to be particular). And it isn't going well, guys. The family business is running down the drain because no one is buying plants. So, we have no money really to hire employees so it's me and my dad and we've been pulling farmer days for a while. That's when you work early in the morning (we've been going in for 8 everyday, god help us if we went earlier, we'd be living at the farm), and end work at 4:30 to go home to eat supper, and go back to the farm to finish up work until the sun goes down. So that's why updates have been a little slow…I ask for a little slack please and thank you for your understanding ^^;; **


	10. I Knew It

I Knew It

Keith entered a room, big, white, and and held various cages far out of sight from everything else in the compound. Angel had been tied to the wall on a short leash, her mouth tied up in a muzzle. Other animals were inside as well, but she had been the only dog.

"They don't got no cameras here cause they don't want to have no evidence of what they do." Keith explained, letting out all the animals and reaching down to pet Angel. She whined a bit until he produced his small portion of steak for her to eat, she gobbling it down right away.

"They don't feed 'em none too well neither." She licked his hand and face a bit before going to greet Ellis, her tail wagging dully behind her as she nuzzled into the palm of his hand and whined a bit.

"She don't sound too happy…"

"Would you be happy cooped up in a place like this?"

Nick gestured with his thumb to the animals, although free, couldn't find the strength to move more than their heads. Ellis felt a pang of guilt run through him as he took a seat on a nearby stool and continued to massage his fingers in Angel's fur.

"Now you guys gotta go an' git outta here. I can request t'move yeh outta here, but you can't _stay_ in any compound."

"What? Why not! Hey, Ellis, is this still the same lame-brain guy that you always talk about!"

"Yep. I'm the same. Jus' got a little more intel than you guys. So long as you're here as carriers, you'll be tested on jus' like these guys. That tube that you found, El? That was a gassin' tube."

"I knew it…"

"Yup. Why do you think they want me to 'show you the ropes?' They want to have enough time tuh fix the tube an' get you back in time for bed."

Keith opened up a cage labeled 'sewer specimens' and had more than thirty rats spilling out of the cage and onto the ground.

"This room's seal-locked, no one can get outta here without knowin' the code."

He pointed to the keypad and opened another cage with a rabbit in it, smiling slightly. Ellis felt a pang of jealousy. He had known Keith his entire life and it was if his life had turned on a switch. As if he suddenly had grown without him.

"We're not leavin' without you."

Ellis spoke, suddenly growing stubborn. Keith turned to look at his considered-brother and saw his eyebrows pulled over his eyes in a frown. He would have laughed but he too, was desperate.

"Ey, listen, so long as you get outta here, I'm cool with that."

"Don't try and be a hero. I hate people like you."

Nick crossed his arms, now stepping in. Keith let out a laugh and shrugged a bit.

"I get fed here. Two a' you look like you ain't never seen so much food before."

The two other survivors looked at each other and exchanged wry grins. They weren't too sure that they wanted to agree with this man, even though they could trust him.

"An' anyhow, I gotta get the two of you out _safely_."

"I'm already working on it. If I throw in more money, I could get you out too, Keith…" Nick offered, Ellis's heart melting instantly. Who knew the conman could have a heart? Keith shrugged and gave him a smile.

"Listen, Jack ain't the type tuh follow through his deals. He'll rob you blind n' then roast ya alive like the rest of 'em."

He looked over at Ellis and frowned deeply.

"An' he don't like bein' a doctor none too much neither…best if you pretend, El…"

"Aw shit, Keith, c'mon…stop all this…it ain't you…"

Ellis hugged Angel close to his leg and saw Keith sigh heavily.

"Don't go to New Orleans. Ma's there, she's safe, but you can't go. They'll lock you up same they do here. Yer both carriers, not immunes. It's different. They call this humane, but shit, ya ain't got no other option but to listen to 'em."

The three of them fell silent and listened to the different scurries of creatures about in the small room. It was small bits of information that they all had to ingest. Knowing that they weren't going to be really saved unless they turned out to be in Keith's position, which they weren't really approving of, bogged their minds. How were they supposed to stay safe if the people who were supposed to save them were treating them like guinea pigs? "So…these animals…"

"They're all experiments, kid. The numbers go into the billions…CEDA did this." Nick began to explain to Ellis, Keith tugged at his gas mask that hung right under his chin and gave a nod to Ellis. This was just reaffirming what had been earlier said.

"The experiments are placed in a certain bracket of numbers and were released into heavily populated areas…"

"Yep…CEDA planned this all out, you know. I ain't supposed to know this, but like, everyone here does."

Keith explained as he sat on the floor across from the other two and picked up a rabbit, stroking its fur. Nick shook his head as he closed his eyes, his jaw locking up in a half-laugh as he turned his head slightly to the side.

"I knew it…I knew it straight from the beginning…this was all a population control. When the world's numbers go into the billions, there's a need to bring it back down. CEDA's not going to save us."

There was more silence and Ellis rubbed the bridge of his nose. He didn't want to think about this. He wanted to just…_stop_. Shoot something. Make things seem like it was back to zombie-normal instead of CEDA normal. Hell, when had the norms changed? The norm was to stay a mechanic, play bass, drink beer, go to ma's for Sunday dinner and now the norm was to run from safe room to safe room shooting zombies, scavenging for food, and getting hurt every now and again. But the norm they were trying to achieve was to be with CEDA and stay safe. Now that they had it…they weren't so sure they wanted it anymore.

"Ay, Keith…"

The red-head looked over at Ellis and saw that he was in a no-nonsense sort of mood. He wasn't used to that.

"Yeah?"

A frown.

This wasn't good.

"What happened to Paul and Andy?"

Keith's heart sank at the mention. Paul and Andy were his brothers. His real brothers. They had sort of grown up together, but Ellis and Keith were the ones who were really close. Paul played the older brother role and went off to college, so he didn't really stay in the picture for too long, and Andy had gone off to live with a distant relative.

"Paul…Paul, Andy and Dave…"

Keith looked down at the rabbit and sighed, shaking his head.

"Man, they all changed."

Ellis's gut dropped as he focused his attention on Angel and sighed, shaking his head with a pained expression.

"Sons of bitches…"

There was a silence in the air that couldn't have been sliced even with a white hot knife. The information being exchanged was enough to burden any normal person. Nick knew a lot about what was happening, Keith seemed to know all, and Ellis was left in the dark. The most vulnerable position to be in.

"We gotta escape all together."

Ellis was adamant now. He wouldn't back down from this. He wouldn't let his friend become victimized any longer. Especially on account that it was Ellis that he was looking for.

"Any other news, Nick?"

Ellis finally asked, earning a shrug.

"No. Just that the experiments went in the billions, special names for them, and now they're trying to get them back. Sounds pretty much like an experiment gone wrong. That and he doesn't like you."

"Me? What'd I ever do to him?"

"Well, Overalls, he's a man that doesn't like to be questioned. You saw him with Keith? Well, you questioned him earlier. I suggest you keep your goddamn mouth shut from now on."

"I did!"

"You opened it one times too many. He's been harassing me to keep you out of the deal."

His eyes widened at the words that Nick said and he grit his teeth.

"Yeah, well I ain't want no part of it then! I'mma get out on my own an' get the others on my own!"

"Ya can't get out without help. Shit, _I_ can't get out. _I _need authorization."

Keith gave him a small grin and then forced a bigger smile—fake.

"Th' other compound ain't a good place for your friends t'be neither."

He began slowly, letting the rabbit hop away from his lap. The two survivors looked over at Keith with brief suspicion that he knew more than he was letting on. "

It's known t'have more burnings than this one…an' they burn people easier than burning gas."

Fear began gnawing at their hearts. They had to get the others out of there before they were discovered. Nick, however, was sweating a bit more than the others. His bank account, unbeknownst to anyone, was in the red. Worse than having no money, he was in debt. And that was bribing the doctor with more money than he could even fathom having.

"We have to get out of here."

Nick spoke, an ice growing in his gut before continuing, "because he also wants to experiment on us…because we're carrier-immunes…"

"I knew it."

Ellis snapped his finger and scrunched up his face.

"He said 'we' Ellis, but that doc established his hate for you. He means you."

Nick reminded, seeing Ellis's face draw back in shock. The kid never was one to hold a poker face.

"Naw, no way. I'm done here. Throw me a horde of witches and tanks in one go an' I'll face 'em instead out in zombie-land."

"You're turning into an immune because of being with Angel for so long. They want your DNA."

"Then I'll spit an' piss in a cup n' then go!"

"It ain't that easy. El, they torture you…they did t'me an' lookit me now…"

Keith laughed a bit and rubbed the back of his head bashfully.

"I ain't been right same as before. They do stuff t'ya El…"

He forced a smile towards his considered brother and saw worry etch on his face. Ellis knew that Keith really wasn't what he used to be. He was a changed man.

"None real good. 'Specially if you get on the same list as I was."

Ellis groaned and held his forehead, feeling his muscles tensing up. He didn't know how to react. He went to speak but was interrupted.

"Do you think you could stand up t'somethin' I couldn't? After all these years you've known me?"

Ellis fell silent. He hated himself for allowing Keith to be hurt without his knowing. "I'm gonna kill the bastard…"

Nick felt a smile creep up on his face as he looked up at Keith.

"Hey Keith, you're not as stupid as I thought. Bit of a fighter."

"Gotta get smart t'get outta here. Or have money."

The two fell silent once more and Nick gave a nod.

"I'll talk to Jack. And one more thing Jack told me…"

They turned to Nick with curiosity.

"They won't make the cure until the world population falls at least by half. Meaning we'll be fighting for a while. And you know those zombies? Not dead. Seriously, it's a virus that induces a zombie-like state, cannibalism and insanity. If they don't eat or drink like a normal person within three, maybe four days…well…then you can really call them the undead."

Their blood chilled. The hundreds upon thousands of zombies they've been killing, they hadn't all been dead?

"So…there was a chance t'save 'em?"

"Why d'you think the military laid out guns n'ammo and bombs? They want carriers and immunes to duke it out 'till one or the other dies. That's how they're gonna control th' people." Keith explained, loathing every word that escaped his mouth. "An' that's what survivors across th' globe've been doin'."

Keith chuckled a bit, melancholy, and flexed a scarred hand. "Out of all th' dumb things we've ever done, El…this has gotta be the dumbest. We ain't never goin' back to th' way things were."

"I know, Keith…but I'd rather kill things an' try an' keep surviving out there than be stuck in here. Keith, come with us. That way you don' gotta keep livin' here an' you can tell ma when we see her that y'found me."

The red-head gave a wry smile and nodded. Ellis knew that he was looking at a broken man in front of him.

"I'll try, but I ain't holdin' no promises."

"Keith…"

"He's coming, Overalls. Don't worry about it."

Nick spoke up, a grin breaking out on Ellis's face.

"Thanks, Nick."

The other man was a wreck, Nick knew. He'd stay somewhere safe if he knew he'd stay alive. And to do that, he would stay in the devil's snare as his pawn. He couldn't let Ellis's friend, someone he knew that he was close to (and he had an IOU with Ellis, after all), not in some hellish compound.

"Further back's the roastin' room. The animals here smell death an' stay real quiet-like as to not cause no trouble. The collie here's the biggest one we got, so it don't smell too bad unless y'get real close."

"Her name's Angel."

Ellis immediately defended, not wanting to refer to her as an experiment. Keith chuckled a bit and smoothed out his hair backwards, revealing the stains of a tattoo that was in the process of removal on his forehead.

"Anyways, I gotta get you back. Up an' at 'em. I'll put the critters away later."

Ellis sighed and stood up, holding onto his wound and beginning to walk off.

"Damn witches…"

"Seriously, you've lived through worse, El."

"Yeah, yeah. Won't die from this, just hard t'move right."

"Hawhaw, Nick, did he ever tell you 'bout the time we hitched a ride in an old truck? Hoo, El fell out an' got near run over!"

"Keith, I don't listen to Overall's stories, what makes you think I'll listen to yours?" Keith threw him a grin and turned to Ellis.

"He always this friendly?"

"On occasion."

They continued out, Angel always staying next to Ellis and waited next to him when he needed a rest against a wall. The two other waited until he could continue on before turning in for the day, leaving Nick and Ellis in their respective room in silence. After all, they had to look like they didn't know each other too well.

* * *

**AN:Sorry for the delay! Summer school has been wringing my brain dry! Hope you enjoy this! There may be flaws (I honestly won't lie), because I tried making it sound plausible but I'm not the type to go over ALL possible plot-holes (as a writer and editor of my own stuff, things will slip and I won't think of everything), but nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
**


	11. Whistle Blower

Whistle blower

Ellis was strapped to a cold aluminum bed. His head was held firmly in two clamps vicing against his temples and holding him completely still. He went to yell but found his voice to be muffled down to a whisper. Beads of sweat began to trickle down the sides of his forehead as he began thrashing around, his face contorted in anguish. He hated being confined. Hated the clamps, the metal tinging sounds the bed made, the way he was completely vulnerable, the way there was no escape—everything.

"OVERALLS!"

* * *

Ellis snapped awake, breathing harshly. His eyes were wild with his hands held high above him. He felt something between his fingers and palm—a fistful of screws. "The…hell…"

"Yeah, the hell is wrong with you! Asshole! You had those in your pockets the entire time? You started trying to stab you and me with it, more importantly, me!"

"I've always had 'em, I'm a mechanic!"

"Well you were flailing them around, you psycho!"

Ellis rubbed his face and sighed, looking down at his shoes.

"Man…"

"Night terrors?"

A familiar voice stunned him to the spot. Jack had walked in.

"Must have been hard for you out there."

Ellis didn't trust him. There was no way he could with the information that was provided to him.

"Come; let's see how your wounds are doing."

"Naw, doc, I'm fine. Really! Just nightmares! S'all good. Been havin' 'em since I was a boy."

He grinned from ear to ear to try and reassure him but Nick knew that something was up. "Oh? Past trauma?"

"Naw, just got scared of a few things back then. Never went away."

The mechanic could feel himself beginning to sweat. He was giving away too much information. He was scared of this man. Nick sensed this and went to speak up but Jack cut him off.

"What sort of things?"

"Why d'you want know?"

"Just curious. Are you going to tell me or not?" Ellis sat there frozen; mouth gummed up and looked over at Nick who seemed equally hesitant. Soon enough, he gave a nod and earned a sigh from Ellis. Either give him one tool or another, it was all a question of how he's later use those tools. "Claustrophobia. Me n'K—well, one of my buddies named Keith and Pail were playin' in some forest an' found a boxcar. So I jump in an' they closed it as a joke. 'Cept they dared me t'go in in the first place. I was there the entire night. Turns out a family of coons lived there an' they couldn't open th' door in th' morning. Man, I was stuck there for like an entire week!"

"Hm…indeed…Paul, eh? This Keith here lost a brother named Paul."

Nick's head snapped over at Ellis and although Nick could keep a poker face, he knew that Ellis had no idea how. His ears burned and face contorted in surprise.

"No shit!"

"Yes, yes! It's almost as if your mother, Laura, was someone he knew too…and what about that crazy scoundrel Dave, hm? Few things he's done with you. Can't forget Keith's father, George, too. Or Andy for that matter."

Ellis visibly shook in his boots. Nick knew that Jack researched everything he could about the two hicks in the time that they had alone. Keith was in danger.

"THAT'S KEITH! Damn, musta changed or somethin'! I don't recognize him none!"

"No, no, photo ID from before the zombie outbreak shows that he looks the same."

Ellis swallowed the lump in his throat and found it near impossible to do so without problems.

"Oh, Ellis, I know even about your mother Laura being in New Orleans…"

"Don't you dare touch her."

Venom seethed in his voice as he spoke. Both hands curled into fists and he was ready to attack. Testosterone pumped through his veins. His family was in danger. And he wasn't going to standby and do nothing.

"Oh?"

"She's immune!" He yelled suddenly, clenching onto the screws in his hand. Weapons. They went from screws to weapons in mere fractions of a second.

"Well, all it takes is a few phone calls and her green card suddenly turns into a red one."

"You wouldn't…"

"Oh, I would."

"Just what do you want from the kid, Jack?"

Nick knew that he had to get Ellis out of the predicament. There was no way for him to do so since the beginning anyways.

"I don't like liars, Nick. All I ask is for the truth from Ellis here."

Jack's lips turned up in a sneer.

"Do you know Keith, Ellis?"

"Where's Keith?"

"So you do know him personally!"

"WHERE IS HE!"

"Control, Ellis, control. Nick, really…"

"Ellis, calm down. Give him what he wants."

"Why'd you lie, Ellis?"

An overload of information was going to make him explode.

"You woulda never let me see him!"

Another ugly grin.

"You're right. He's done for incineration any day now."

"You son of a-"

"So's the dog."  
"JACK! Do that and no money!"

Nick threatened, the doctor going very still.

"$800,000. Everything I have in my bank. You do exactly as I say and it's all yours." Jack licked his lips.

"Think wisely, Jack. That's a lot of money to be turning down. Things don't have to be this way."

Once more, Jack looked over at Ellis and then Nick before growling.

"Fine."

The minute he spun on his heel to run out, Nick's face darkened and he lunged forwards, grasping onto Jack's arm and pinning them high behind his back. Pain coursed through the doctor's body as the pain stung through his shoulders and he was stunned into submission.

"What are you…"

"Get. Us. Out. Now."

Nick hissed through clenched teeth, nostrils flaring. Even Ellis was surprised by the conman's boldness.

"Nick, what're you…"

"I know a conniving man when I see one. Reach into his pocket. Left one." Ellis made his way to the doctor and reached in his pocket, pulling out a magnum.

"The hell…?"

"You're going to walk us to your office."

"Nice an' slow-like."

Ellis pressed the gun against the doctor's back, pulling the trigger back so the noise was enough to tell the doctor that he was serious. He reached into his other pocket and retrieved three mags.

"Great! You really were gonna kill us, weren't you!"

"Well, now, things have changed. You, Jack, are going to walk to your office. No, not walk, strut just like before. And you're going to pick up the phone and call the other compound. You're going to release our friends and have them supplied with guns and ammo and tell them to meet us in a safe area. Then, you're going to give me, Ellis, Keith, and the dog clearance to leave."

"You know that's not how…"

"You say somethin'?"

Ellis breathed in his ear, pushing the gun painfully into his back until he let out a yelp.

"Our bargain! Our bargain!"

"You were going to kill Ellis just now. I think that makes our contract void. You coulda done everything just as I had said. Gotten a lot of money and we'd be out of your hair." A sinister grin grew on his face.

"Then you go and try to outsmart a conman…I hate it when people tried that against me back before all this. So, things will go my way now."

"Where's Keith and Angel!"

"In…incineration room holding cell…"

He stuttered, Ellis's eyes growing wide.

"Gotta get 'em, Nick. They can help."

"That's where we're going. Slowly, now."

Jack moved at a startling slow pace just to piss off Nick, but changed his gait when Nick twisted his arm painfully behind him and proceeded down the twisting hallways.

"Heeeeelp! Heeeey! Someone? Anyone, anytime now!"

"That's Keith!"

Ellis ran forwards and opened the door, seeing Keith and Angel tied up to the wall—Angel muzzled firmly and foaming at the mouth in anger. Ellis began untying the ropes and looked back at Jack and saw him squirming against Nick.

"Stop moving or I'll shoot!"

"Jesus Christ, Ellis, we need him alive!"

Nick yelled, Ellis's gun pointed straight at Jack's forehead. It was almost not enough to deter the hick from wanting to blow the brains out of the doctor. He threatened his family and friends. An unforgivable act.

"I've got a pretty good shot, doc. Don't test me no more."

Keith grinned as he stood up and rubbed his wrists.

"Buddy boy, I've been given all the codes. Let's get weapons, guys."

"Keith, I swear I'll…"

"Not much of a whistleblower, Jack-a-roo. Angel here made sure o' that."

"How…a dog!"

"Aint'cha ever had no friends?"

He grinned and handed Nick something out of his pockets.

"Made me a shank while I've been here. Comes in handy."

"Like now. Doc, you've got so many people on your side!"

Once Angel was freed, she licked Ellis's face and ran up to Keith and then Nick.

"Alright, time to make that call. Let's go."

"I'm not calling-"

"You will call. And then you will come with us. Ever been a hostage before?"

"Nicholas…"

"You're the one who decided to ditch the bargain. You just chose the wrong guy to mess with."

"Fuck you."

Jack spat, his face beginning to turn cherry red beneath his graying beard. Nick grinned from ear to ear and chuckled.

"Haven't heard someone tell me that in too long."

* * *

**AN: Meep. It's short because it had to be….I swear next chapter will be longer! **


	12. The Sacrifice

The Sacrifice

Keith punched in a code to a room and opened it as soon as they came to a door. Two other guards stood inside, one tall man with dark, olive skin and another with near transparent skin. Their faces were covered with a mask covering only half their faces.

"Hey guys. Remember how Jackie here had Deedee roasted cause she badmouthed him?"

Keith began, earning scoffs.

"Guess who managed to get their hands on him! Little Nicky here and El need guns. We're gettin' out. Jackie wanted t'kill my bro here. Can't let that happen. You with?"

"Would love to, but if you're leaving, we gotta cover your tracks."

The pale man spoke. Keith grinned from ear to ear.

"Y'sure you ain't whistleblowers?"

"Naw, we're your buds. If anyone does, we'll make sure they're dealt with."

The three men all couldn't help themselves from smiling.

"Well shucks, guys…you serious?"

"We owe ya after protecting our asses during the last raid."

The black man spoke, his voice a deep thrum that resonated deeply in the room.

"Jesus guys…"

"Well, stop gawking and take the damn guns!" The dark man thrust a scar in Keith's hands and handed the other two guns as well. Ellis felt a pang of jealousy at the closeness of Keith and the other guards. He wasn't sure of how it happened, and he knew that Keith had changed, but so much in a month or two seemed unfathomable.

A month or two…had it really only been so little time? The days melded together. He had no idea when that happened either but it just did. Another thing he didn't like. And a harsh reminder that winter would soon be upon them. That the battle against the zombies wasn't the only battle they'd have to win.

"You're going to pay."

Jack seethed. The tall male loomed over him and poked his chest.

Put a twinkie in it. The amount of shit coming out of your mouth is worse than the damn apocalypse."

"You'll regret this."

"One hit, Keith? Just once…?"

The tall man pleaded in an almost unnatural sweet tone for such a man. Jack turned to Keith with wide eyes and began begging to the red-head.

"Aw man, I ain't a bad guy. We jus' wanna get outta here."

The black man pushed past Jack's shoulder and picked up a few rounds of ammo and handed it to the survivors.

"We can escort you for now."

"We need to get our friends," Nick began, the pale man finding tie wraps and clipping them around Jack's wrists. "They're in another compound."

"L132."

Keith corrected Nick, earning a confused look from the two of them.

"Well, with Jackie here, we can get you there without worries. Name's Ryan."

"Dick here." The tall man introduced himself first and shorter one second. "Right, then, let's hop to your office, doc."

Nick grinned, slinging on his gun while Ryan held onto Jack.

"You'll be stopped before you reach my office!"

Jack screeched, beginning to trash around again until Ryan tucked him neatly under his arm with a smile.

"Not really. You honestly don't know how many people are against you, do you?"

Dick smiled behind his gas-mask and as he proceeded out the door, allowing Angel to brush up against his leg and ask for pets. Ellis tested his sniper and clicked on the safety, looking over at Nick who began fiddling with a military rifle.

"Well, they're definitely the ones we've been using."

"Yup."

"Let's move it, people. While we're not whistleblowers, there are a few in the vicinity." Ryan reminded them, Keith picking up first aid kits and passing one to the two of them. They were going to have to ensure that all went well and they wouldn't get caught. Keith wasn't sure how they were going to do that successfully, but he'd have to try to save Ellis from the hell he had managed to get himself into.

The group managed to walk down the spiral of different hallways, Ellis's magnum pointed at the doctor the entire way until they reached his office. Ryan had set Jack down so he could make his way to his phone and dialed out with pudgy fingers, Ellis relaxing his arm slightly as he watched. Nick knew that the kid's shot was good enough to shoot a nail through wood from a hundred yards away. He wasn't worried about his shot, though, he was worried if he would actually shoot to kill a man. Nick didn't trust Jack enough to let him carry out the procedure on his own, but there was nothing else that he could do. "Hello, this is Jack from—well, yes…yes…" He looked over at the four other men and turned back to the phone. "There are two people who are new there? How do they look like?"

"A man and a woman. Dark-skinned. Rochelle and Coach."

Nick spoke up, Jack relaying the information.

"Yes, I'll hold…"

Jack turned back to the others and saw Ellis tense up once more, directing his gun straight in his face. Sweat beaded down his temples and he tried looking away from Ellis, not wanting to face the deadly weapon being waved around in his face. Everyone but the doctor remained completely silent. Even Angel sat at the door in silence—waiting for someone to do something or give her a command.

"Y-yes…I'm here."

Jack suddenly spoke, all eyes falling upon him.

"O-oh…I see…escaped? They…well confound it, man; I've a gun pointed at me asking for their safe return! I'll be shot now!"

"Christ."

Nick unplugged the phone jack from the wall and cut off the signal, pushing Jack up against the wall and saw Ellis swinging his arm up to in his peripheral.

"Don't shoot him, Ellis. He's still our hostage." Nick grabbed him by his bound wrists and yanked him to the ground, the doctor beginning to sob.

"Please don't kill me…I'm begging you…"

"What do we do now…?"

Keith asked almost naively. Dick ran outside the door and looked down both ways.

"You have three minutes, tops, to run out of here."

"Keith is escaping with you, right? He can falsify security clearance and give you codes to doors."

Ryan spoke now; kicking the doctor in the stomach and watching him writhe. The aged man was in a state of self preservation. He was refusing to go down and was going to do whatever necessary to take out the four of them.

"Nuh uh, I ain't leaving none of you."

"Oh hell, ain't you sweet. But unless you want these guys caught again, you're going to have to guide them out. We've got your backs."

Ryan said. Keith seemed to get choked up and coughed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Guys…"

"This isn't time to get all mushy. We have to move. NOW!"

Nick yelled, helping the doctor to his feet and pushing him out the door. Ellis was stoic-faced the entire time.

"We can't leave him here. He's gonna give the order t' kill my ma."

"He's right." Keith added, looking over at Nick. "We can't take him along either."

"D-Don't kill me!"

He immediately pleaded, earning the butt of Nick's gun in his face. A scowl drew across his face as he watched him fall limply onto the ground.

"We'll bring him with us. If we're lucky, he'll die."

Nick suggested, earning a nod from the group. Dick suddenly cocked his gun and ran into the hall, shooting out in front of him. A hail of bullets tore into him as he kept on marching forwards, blood staining his suit and face mask breaking off his face and tumbling to the ground.

"RICHARD!"

Ryan shouted out his name and darted out, seeing him leveling out a mass of guards in front of him hidden by steam he had produced by shooting a pipeline overhead.

"GO! We've wasted too much time!"

Dick shouted, his blue eyes piercing into the eyes of the others. Keith's throat knotted up and he called to Angel, proceeding to dash out in the opposite way of where Dick was shooting at. Ryan stood his ground beside his smaller comrade but realized that it would be far too late to save him even if he stopped now.

"You dick…"

Dick let out a grin at the swear and peered upwards at him from his aiming position, never lowering his stance.

"I _will_ start with the black jokes…"

He threatened, coughing out a bit of blood and watched Nick steer Jack out first, Ellis following behind while dancing on his feet facing towards the dying man. He was scared. He, too, knew it was over for the guard, but he was still _scared._ Why? Dick didn't know. He really was a no one to him, but if he was repaying a debt to Keith, and if Keith was willing to risk his life to get these two out, then they had to be someone important to him. "Debt repaid on my part, Ryan…go do yours. I'll make sure no one else comes down this way."

Thick pearly tears formed at the corners of the taller man's eyes, his chest heaving with sorrow.

"Gonna miss ya, bud."

"Now get out of here."

Dick motioned with his eyebrow, the tall man laying a giant hand on his shoulder in comfort before taking off beside Ellis. The mechanic looked down at the man shorter than him and frowned.

"HEY!"

Dick turned his head momentarily.

"What do you want?"

"Thanks man…"

Dick winced as the pain began to set in on him. The only reason why he wasn't moving was because his knees had locked up on him. There was no way he was going to do move without falling over. And what kind of death would that be?

"Take care of Keith, ya hear? He's all tough and shit, but he's really dumb. Like _really_ dumb. Was he hit on the head as a kid?"

Ellis let out a laugh and scratched his head.

"Got into trouble more times n' we could count."

Dick's eye glanced over at Ellis once more and saw the boy shaking. He cursed a bit and shook his head.

"Ain't you ever see a dying man before?"

"Yeah…just…I'll take care of Keith."

With that, Ellis turned and darted ahead, eyes shut tight as he fought back tears. From pain from his wounds or from sadness, he knew that it was _something_ he couldn't control.

And then an explosion resonated throughout the hallway. They all turned back to see the hallway behind them had completely collapsed, the outside world shining through.

"DICK!"

Keith let out a choked yell, eyes brimming with tears. He went to run forwards but Angel stood fast in front of him, growling a bit. Seconds later, the area blew up two more times and really ensured that no one would be able to get out.

"Damn idiot…he used his grenades to cover our tracks…"

Ryan began, Jack's eyes widening. Nick took note and scoffed.

"Never had friends do that for you, Jackie!" He yelled. "This is all because you weren't holding up your end of the bargain!"

"I-I…"

There was no room for Jack to answer. A loud siren went off, chilling Nick and Ellis to the very core.

"Christ in a hand basket…"

Ellis swore, looking over at the others. Ryan, Jack, and Keith had no idea what was happening. They looked over at the survivors and saw them picking up the pace.

"I hope you guys have enough ammo to fend off zombies."

Just as Nick said that, as if on cue, a ghastly wail echoed through the compound.

"You okay to fight, Overalls?"

"Never better."

He grinned and stood up as straight as he could, clutching onto his shirt.

"What's going on?"

"Well, doc, those wails? No, not the siren, the other one. That was the sound of zombies coming. And whoever set off that alarm is the stupidest person ever."

"We…never actually had to use it…"

Jack paled considerably, almost matching his white coat. Ellis checked his gun and looked over at Angel, seeing her dropping low to the ground and growling at the open space in the ceiling.

"They're comin', let's get outta here."

Ellis began climbing over the rubble and emerged into the bleak sunlight, staring out into the distance to see a haze of yellow hanging over the horizon—and thousands of tiny, fast-moving figures. Nick grunted as he hauled himself over the rubble and gazed upon what Ellis saw. In a burst of fury, he grabbed the doctor's jaw and forced him to face the horizon.

"You see that, idiot? THAT is what your men just attracted. Are you prepared for that!"

"What…are they…there's so many…"

"Zombies, man…"

Ellis breathed out the words, looking down at the gun in his hands. Definitely not enough ammo for them all.

"What in the hell…"

Keith and Ryan joined them, their eyes widening.

"Angel, find us a way out."

At Ellis saying the word 'out,' Angel darted ahead and began scouting. They began scrambling off the side of the building and onto solid ground when a force stopped them. Police batons beat Ryan to the ground, Keith's eyes widening as he raised his gun and shot the guards off the tall man.

"Come on, get to your feet!"

He helped him stand and realized that he had blood falling from the side of his head and trickled down his neck. Jack let out screams at the sight and now knew for sure that they weren't afraid to shoot. He tried scrambling away from Nick but the conman kept a firm grip on him, the collie darting back to the others. Her front paws and chest were brown with dirt and merited confused looks from all of them.

"Let's move it!"

Ellis commanded, now going to follow the collie to wherever she was taking them. Ryan stopped at the sounds of guns, and turned to see that they were coming from behind a concrete building.

"Uh, Keith…"

"NO! Don't you dare think about it, Ryan!"

"Aha ha, since when did you become so controlling?"

"RYAN!"

Keith shouted out the name as the large man barreled past the red-head and began shooting wildly in front of him, alerting the guards of where he was so he wouldn't catch himself in an ambush around the corner. Though, he knew that there would be no two ways about it. There'd be trouble for him in the end.

"Keith, c'mon!"

Ellis had to get over the fact that people were going to end up dead. He wished it wouldn't have to happen with all his heart, but unfortunately, life during an apocalypse wasn't so easy. He scowled as he reached over to Keith and took hold of his forearm and proceeded to drag the stunned man over to where Angel was bringing them. Keith, at one point in time, gathered his bearings and began running to the chain-link fence that Angel was at, sitting patiently but urging them to move quicker nonetheless. Jack stumbled along frantically, now putting all his trust in the three men that had threatened his life. Nick came to the fence beside Keith and saw Angel squeezing through under the fence and safely on the other side.

"Goddammit, only a dog could think of this..!"

He cursed loudly, Angel panting on the other side almost happily. Gunshots resonated now behind them and they all turned to see Ellis running towards them, his head ducked behind a raised arm.

"Move, man, move!"

He yelled at them, three grenades exploding near him. He let out a grunt and tumbled to the ground, rolling to a stop and groaning softly. "ELLIS!" Keith screamed out his name as he ran towards him, watching his friend push himself up off the ground and reach out for his gun, CEDA units beginning to descend upon him. Keith fired off his gun into the units before they could reach the hick.

Fear.

Keith, the man who got sick and lost more blood than a normal human probably should, the man who took on more dares that were life-threatening than stupid, felt a chill of fear wrap its bony fingers around his heart and sent prestone-like fluid to replace his blood. He wasn't a runner like Ellis was, but by normal standards, he was still pretty good. But as the seconds egged onto minutes and his bullets slowed to the speed of which Superman could see them, he knew that he wasn't going to reach Ellis in time.

And that is what scared him.

* * *

**AN: I rather like this chapter…no idea why, but I just do. I hope you do too!**


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